


Follow You (Into The Dark)

by ventusphoenix



Series: Deep Dive AU [1]
Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: AI!Mikleo, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Cyberpunk (sorta), Internet Diver!Sorey, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-09-08 13:36:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 38,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8847091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ventusphoenix/pseuds/ventusphoenix
Summary: In the distant future, technological advancements allow people to become ‘net divers and explore cyberspace. Most people undertake ‘net diving as a hobby, and so did Sorey once. But after losing his diving partner, Mikleo, three years prior during a dive exploration, he blames himself for the accident and loses his passion for diving.That is, until one day when he receives an encrypted message bringing him back into the ‘net. Near the site where he once lost Mikleo, he meets a mysterious program and learns that those who have been lost to cyberspace can retain themselves as AI.





	1. Prologue: Deep Waters

**Author's Note:**

> (when will I stop writing angst or write something based on actual Zestiria canon, that is the eternal question)
> 
> Hi everyone! I'm back with another AU, brought to you by myself and [Nami](https://twitter.com/defragmentise)! We're both really excited to share it with you, so we hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
> 
> tbh I was going to write more for Cat and Mouse, but then inspiration for this AU hit me hard and so I completely ran away and fell in love with it. I will still be writing for C&M but updates will be even more sporadic now hahaha, oops...!
> 
> Well enough from me, please enjoy the prologue! ♡

The room was bright, lit by rows of fluorescent lights overhead and the glare from several holographic displays floating in mid-air. Lines of computer code and blinking graphs littered the screens, changing and updating by the second. To a normal person the information might have been impossible to interpret, but not for the violet-eyed youth who stood in front of the displays.

Flicking his wrist, two of the displays disappeared off-screen. With another wave of his hand, the third display was enlarged to fill the whole screen.

“Traffic looks stable, not detecting any errors or crashes,” he murmured, eyes flickering from one side of the screen to the other. He didn’t even flinch when another person’s shoulder playfully bumped into his own. Narrowing his eyes, he gave the second person a glare before returning his attention to the screen in front of him.

“And no routine maintenance planned for today?” the second person piped up from his spot by the violet-eyed youth’s side, eyes similarly following his gaze.

“No routine maintenance,” he answered, waving away the display to turn to his companion.

“Perfect,” bright green eyes lit up at the news, accompanied by a wide grin. “So we can stay as long as we like.”

Before his friend could respond, he was hurrying over to their dive unit, ducking under holographic displays and being careful not to trip over the long cables that ran across the floor. The violet-eyed youth shook his head in response to his friend’s boundless energy and enthusiasm, but it wasn’t long before he joined him.

Their dive unit was a clunky machine, all scratched silver metal and still running an older operating system. Compared to modern dive units, it was far from sleek or glamorous. But it had remained their connection to the ‘net over the many years that they had been diving together.

A smaller screen on the side of the unit blinked to life when it was touched, small noises sounding in response to each keystroke that was entered. With a whirring hiss, pods connected to the dive unit opened to reveal two cockpits, each with a helmet-like object sitting on the seat.

“Sorey, I know you have the tendency to be absorbed once we get down there, so let me remind you that you’re still human,” the violet-eyed youth sighed, his hand on the edge of the pod as he prepared to enter it. “You’ll need to resurface at some point.”

“Heh, it’s true that I would forget to even eat if not for you reminding me, Mikleo!” Sorey chuckled, hoisting the diving helmet into his lap as he climbed into the pod. Inside, an interface lit up with information similar to that which Mikleo had been looking at earlier. It hummed with each key that Sorey pressed, his fingers moving swiftly having been honed with many years of diving experience.

_< Sorey! Mikleo!  >_

Crawling into view from the corner of the screen was a small grey and white mascot. On its head it wore an oversized, gold-coloured helm with swirling designs, the creature’s large eyes peeking out from underneath.

_< Continuing from where we left off yesterday?  >_

“Yeah!” Sorey said enthusiastically.

“We’ll be counting on you to guide us, Atakk,” Mikleo added in from his pod.

_< Leave it to me!  >_

Atakk disappeared off-screen as Sorey finalised his dive preparations, pulling his helmet on. Glancing to his side, he could see Mikleo doing the same, tufts of his short golden-brown hair disappearing under his helmet. He held out his left arm towards Mikleo, excitement glinting in his bold green eyes.

“Ready?” he asked with a grin.

“Ready,” Mikleo nodded, extending his right arm in turn. Their wrists bumped against one another, Sorey’s feathered bracelet tickling the back of Mikleo’s palm with the movement.

“Preparing to initiate the dive sequence,” Sorey announced, his finger hovering over a lit button on his interface.

“Initiating,” Mikleo responded, his hand poised in a similar manner above his own interface.

With one synchronised movement, they simultaneously pressed the button. The hood of the pod came lowering down, shrouding them in darkness save for the glare of the screen’s display. It was silent inside of the pod, aside from Sorey’s even breaths and the gentle whirring of machinery. He closed his eyes, the screen’s white display resembling an imprint behind his closed eyelids. Focusing on the thrum of the unit’s internal processes at work stilled his restlessness, as he heard Mikleo’s voice coming out over his interface.

“Commencing dive in three… two…”

_< See you guys soon!  >_

Sorey felt the familiar lurch like falling into a deep black pit, but then as soon as the feeling subsided he was opening his eyes to a bustling square filled with activity. People were talking animatedly to one another, others mingling with computer-controlled programs as they exchanged small talk and information. Around him, more avatars were spawning in flashes of white light.

“Sorey,” a young male’s voice from behind him sounded, and he turned.

In front of him stood an avatar with cool violet eyes and silver hair that shone like moonlight. His cropped jacket was a deep blue colour, trimmed with gold designs running along the arms and on his back. A row of belts secured the two sides of his jacket at the front.

“Let’s get going,” said Mikleo, already beginning to walk ahead of him. “We don’t want to keep Atakk waiting.”

“Right,” Sorey laughed, quickly catching up to Mikleo’s side within a few quick steps.

They walked alongside each other down the main street, Sorey easily enamoured by the sights around him no matter how many times he had seen this view. It always amazed him how quickly people had taken to exploring the ‘net. He couldn’t blame them though; here, people felt alive and unhindered and almost anything was possible. There were people who took to diving as a hobby, building for themselves a second virtual life that was free of the disappointments and limitations of their human life. Others simply enjoyed diving for the additional adventure it provided them in their otherwise mundane routine life.

As far as people saw there were no consequences in diving; they were eternally young, with free reign to do almost anything they wanted. It was no wonder that Sorey often got caught up down here, although his idea of ‘net diving as a hobby wasn’t what the normal person would consider a pastime.

“Sorey, quit daydreaming,” Mikleo’s voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he found the other boy frowning at him. “Keep moving or I’ll leave you behind.”

Sorey quickly apologised and grinned sheepishly, quickening his pace to catch up to Mikleo again. He stayed a few paces behind him, content to let him lead. His eyes flickered to the navigational map in the corner of his interface, watching the steady blink of Mikleo’s icon in front of his own. It always came as a comfort to him knowing the boy was never far. In any case, he knew Mikleo was only half-kidding. Though he had threatened to leave Sorey behind, in truth they were stuck with each other.

The location they had set as their default spawn point wasn’t too far from their home within the ‘net, so it only took them a couple of minutes to meet up with Atakk.

“Ah, there you two are!”

They opened the front door of their house and found a young boy waiting in the hallway, bright eyes lighting up from beneath his oversized gold-coloured helm. He looked to be no older than 10, fixing the two with a salute as Mikleo closed the door behind them. The truth was, Atakk was one of the Normin AI series that Sorey and Mikleo had developed during their time at Elysia Corporation. He served specifically as their guide within the ‘net, his need for a ‘human’ avatar being so he could properly guide Sorey and Mikleo, or so he had said.

“I have our co-ordinates set up, so I’m ready to lead the way down whenever you’re ready!” Atakk reminded them, hopping up onto the arm of the nearby sofa and kicking his legs in the air.

“Well then, shall we?” Mikleo asked, turning to Sorey.

“Oh hold on, I want to change first,” he answered quickly, already swiping at his interface.

“Not rushing out the door to go diving for knowledge? That’s a change for once,” Mikleo said with a smirk, but he was also swiping his own interface open.

Sorey laughed at this, turning his attention back to his interface. Flicking to the ‘wardrobe’ tab, he selected a flared jacket from his list of clothing items. Immediately, the black vest he had been wearing disappeared with a flash of light to be replaced by the flared jacket.

“More black?” Mikleo questioned, glancing at him with a quirked eyebrow.

“So what?”

“Nothing,” Mikleo shook his head as he walked over, peering over his shoulder. “How about this?”

Looking at where Mikleo was pointing, Sorey scratched his head before selecting the item. A brown fedora materialised in the air above, falling on top of his head. Putting the hat on properly, he turned to his friend with a questioning look.

“Hmm…” he hummed out loud, surveying him with a hand to his chin. “Nope, take the hat back off.”

“Coming from someone who thought of gifting me a hat for my last birthday?” Sorey grumbled before doing as Mikleo suggested, the hat disappearing in flecks of white sparks.

“Give it a couple years and maybe you’ll make the look work.”

In the end, Sorey had replaced the flared jacket with a different coat, this one a midnight blue trench coat that he left unbuttoned.

“How about now?” he turned to Mikleo with his hands on his hips, puffing his chest out slightly. Mikleo’s gaze wandered over him once down before a mischievous glint came to his eyes.

“Like lipstick on a pig,” he smirked.

“Maybe you’re just jealous,” Sorey teased back, waving the coat and causing it to billow to the side.

“I don’t think so.”

“Nice goggles, by the way,” he remarked, pointing to the item that sat on Mikleo’s head.

“They’re  _sunglasses_  Sorey, get it right.”

“Well if you two are done playing dress-up, I’d say we’re ready to go,” Atakk cut in, jumping off the sofa. Standing at the front door, he swiped his interface open. With a wave of his hand, lines of code immediately appeared on-screen and then faded. The front door shimmered, and suddenly its appearance had changed. Atakk stepped forward and opened the door, but instead of opening up to the cobblestone street Sorey and Mikleo had entered from, the three of them now stood staring at hundreds of images floating against a light background. As Atakk jumped through the doorframe, his human avatar faded and was replaced by his mascot form. He turned back towards Sorey and Mikleo, beckoning them in with his tiny paws. Sorey had to admit that he found Atakk cuter in this form, not that he would voice those thoughts out loud. He jumped in after Atakk, followed by Mikleo who was not far behind him.

Unlike the first level of the ‘net, the new level they had just entered was more formless and advanced. Normally people couldn’t enter this part of the net, but the advantage their dual-unit machine offered them was deeper access to the ‘net. This also meant limitless access to the knowledge contained within the internet’s archives.

Mikleo drifted over to one of the image bins, swiping an image free from the archive. It depicted a large building with banners of blue and gold flapping from the tallest of its structures. High arched windows and carved designs adorned the exterior.

“So this was the home of the Sacred Blade,” Mikleo began, flipping the image to face Sorey.

“The Great Sanctuary, once a symbol of Ladylake,” he continued. “Almost all of the legends about the Shepherd began here, didn’t they?”

< Too bad the sanctuary is gone now, > Atakk added in, bobbing over to rest on Sorey’s shoulder.

“There has to be more to the legend though,” Sorey floated over to one of the other image archives, scrolling through its contents. “It used to be part of Ladylake’s culture back in the day, that’s how highly regarded the legend was.”

“How about this?”

Mikleo was enlarging another image and displaying it next to the one of the sanctuary. Compared to the first image, this one was much darker and less ornamented. It was almost like looking into the depths of an abandoned dungeon, if not for the stone sword depicted in the middle of the image.

“The Vivia Subterranean Aqueduct?” Sorey questioned, placing a hand on his chin in thought. “What about it?”

“Don’t you think this altar sort of resembles the legend of the Sacred Blade?”

“It was said that the Lady of the Lake would bestow the power of the Shepherd upon those who were able to remove the Sacred Blade from its pedestal,” Sorey recited easily, as if remembering a line he had read many times over. “Maybe this was where Shepherds made their pacts in the past?”

“Could be, until the Sacred Blade was moved to the sanctuary…”

“And that’s when the blade and the legend became part of the Sacred Blade Festival.”

“The aqueducts were largely unexplored up to their collapse, which is a shame,” Mikleo sighed, minimising the images with a swipe of his hand and replacing them in the archive. “I would have liked to see what else we could find down there.”

< I dunno what you’re complaining about, looks like you two have plenty to keep you occupied right here, > Atakk quipped, adjusting his helm to stop it from falling.

“I guess you’re right about that,” Sorey laughed, scratching the back of his neck. He was running a hand through his platinum blond hair when he spotted an avatar hiding in one of the archives, peeking up at him with deep curiosity etched in its face. As soon as they made eye contact with each other, the mysterious avatar fled from its spot and disappeared through a new window that had opened for them.

“H-Hey! Wait!” Sorey shouted, propelling himself forward.

“Sorey? Where do you think you’re going?” Mikleo called out after him.

“Mikleo, did you see that? Someone else was here!”

“What?” he stopped and affixed Sorey with a wary look. “Are you sure?”

“W-Well I’m not too sure, I only caught sight of them for a moment before they took off.”

Sorey and Mikleo now floated at the edge of the window that the avatar had opened, looking into it. It was completely dark, impossible to tell what was through there.

“Could it be?”

< It’s another level of the ‘net, > Atakk piped in.

“You mean the ‘net runs deeper than this level?”

< But there’s no telling what’s down there, > he said, all seriousness in his voice. < It’s too deep for me to enter. >

“A depth that not even Atakk can access?” Mikleo was eyeing the window carefully, arms folded across his chest.

“What do you think, Mikleo?”

He closed his eyes in thought, one hand resting on his chin.

“I don’t think it would be impossible for us with the dual-unit,” he replied, opening his eyes.

“Huh?”

“I’m coming with you,” Mikleo now faced Sorey fully, unwavering in his decision. It appeared that he had already known what Sorey was thinking, even before he had asked him. “There’s no way I’d let you navigate that part of the ‘net on your own.”

“Mikleo…”

Waving his interface open, Mikleo keyed in some lines of code, his brow set in concentration. Peering over his shoulder, Sorey could tell that he was utilising the administrator’s console at the moment. They weren’t actually administrators, but one advantage of being hackers was the ability to fool the system into thinking they were. It had been a simple process, though they were careful to use their newfound privileges within reason.

“Alright I’ve set up a cloak on our avatars, since we’re not sure what could be waiting for us down there. I’ve also deployed a tracer on Atakk so we should be able to return here afterwards.”

< Be careful, you two, > Atakk said nervously, bobbing quickly from side to side.

“Mikleo,” Sorey began, but a finger to his lips stopped him mid-sentence.

“No need to thank me,” Mikleo smiled, taking Sorey’s hand as they leapt into the darkness together.

When they emerged on the other side, Sorey’s eyes had to adjust to the dark after coming from the previous level. He squinted, grateful that Mikleo was still holding onto his hand. Once his vision had cleared somewhat, he could see that this level was almost completely formless. There was nothing here save for fragments of what appeared to be residual data, broken up and damaged. His grip on Mikleo tightened, and he felt a gentle squeeze on his hand in return.

“Do you see the avatar from before?” Mikleo asked, as if reminding Sorey of why he had wanted to dive down here.

His eyes scanned the landscape but he saw nothing, even with how empty this level was. He shook his head, almost apologetic that they had found nothing of interest here. Just then, a low growl sounded from behind them.

“Mikleo, did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

The growl came again, louder this time. With their limited vision, it was impossible to tell where it was coming from. Even the navigational map was empty save for their respective icons.

< Watch out! >

Sorey’s head whirled in time to see something charging towards them. Acting quickly, he let go of Mikleo’s hand and pushed away from him just as a set of jaws came between the two of them. It was enough to push him back, holding up an arm to try and protect himself from the force. Lowering his arm, he saw a white cluster of data. It was jagged and malformed, sharp pixels resembling scales running down its body. It was like a serpent, but the head resembled that of a dragon’s, snarling at them fiercely before it let out another cry.

“What is that!?” Mikleo shouted as he rejoined Sorey by his side.

“I have no idea!” he shouted back, eyes widening when he realised the dragon was preparing to charge at them again.

“Sorey, let’s go!”

Mikleo broke away from Sorey’s side just as the dragon lunged at them again. It circled around like a shark, roaring at the pair.

“Head for the portal!” Mikleo said urgently. “You better not start daydreaming again, Sorey!”

“I hear you!” Sorey fired back, gliding alongside Mikleo.

They flew past fragments of data, jumbled 0’s and 1’s that clogged their vision. They could make out the portal now, but Sorey also noticed that the dragon was faster. At this rate, they wouldn’t make it in time before the dragon caught them.

“Mikleo!” Sorey shouted, and he nodded in understanding. They peeled away from each other, watching the dragon come between them in a blur of teeth and scales. The dragon’s jaws clamped around the next closest thing in its path, crushing the portal in its teeth. It shattered and closed, disappearing from view.

“Dammit,” Mikleo cursed under his breath, pulling up his interface to check on the tracer. It was still active, but the amount of residual data floating around was causing the tracker’s system to lag. Without a way to clear the data, he was doubtful he would be able to use the tracer to return to Atakk.

“This doesn’t look good, Sorey,” he bit his lip, racking his brain for a plan as he mentally searched for any way to get them out of this mess.

“Yeah no kidding!”

The dragon was glaring at them now, poised as if ready to lunge at any moment. Sorey hovered in front of Mikleo, holding up an arm protectively as the boy worked on figuring out an escape plan. He felt useless in the face of those teeth and claws, but he trusted Mikleo to come up with something.

“Is there any way of contacting Atakk and getting him to pull us out of the ‘net?” Sorey asked quietly. He was wary of either of them making any sudden movement that might cause the dragon to turn on them again.

“No, all this residual data is interfering with my requests to him. I doubt he’ll be able to do anything from his—” he shook his head before he cut himself off mid-sentence.

“Have you thought of something?” Sorey asked hopefully.

Mikleo hesitated to answer, his fingers hovering over the admin’s console. It was a program he had been in the process of developing but never had the chance to test. It was a risky move when it hadn’t even been debugged yet, and they were running out of time. The interface’s blinking cursor stared back at him as he envisioned all the things that could go wrong.

“Mikleo!”

There was a roar and the dragon was on the move again. Sorey quickly ushered Mikleo behind a stationary data fragment, using it as temporary cover. He gripped his shoulders tightly, urging him to answer his question from earlier.

“…I do have something in mind,” Mikleo finally answered, but he seemed to be avoiding Sorey’s gaze. “But I’ll need a moment.”

Sorey nodded in understanding, holding up an arm towards Mikleo.

“Do what you need to do, I’ll keep it distracted while you work.”

“Just don’t get distracted yourself,” Mikleo smirked, bumping his wrist against Sorey’s. He opened his interface and immediately had the admin’s console open, lines of code appearing with each keystroke as Sorey flew out to meet the dragon.

 _“Sorey,”_  Mikleo’s face appeared on an inset display on Sorey’s interface.  _”Don’t do anything too reckless, alright?”_

He grinned to himself, scratching his cheek.

“Else I’m sure I’ll get an earful from you once we make it back!”

Mikleo didn’t respond to this, but Sorey figured he was busy working on their escape route. He flew into the open, having lost track of the dragon momentarily. His eyes nervously darted to his navigational map, but it was empty save for the single blinking icon which he recognised as Mikleo’s. He heard a snarl from behind him, and he turned to see the dragon staring him down. There was another growl, and Sorey watched as its scales began to warp and pixelate. Two legs formed on its lower body, more pixels gathering as two arms with claw-tipped talons appeared from its upper body. A tail materialised, followed by two large wings sprouting from its back. With a roar it spread its fully formed wings, tail crashing into stray data fragments causing them to split even more.

Now faced with a real dragon, Sorey hoped Mikleo wasn’t too far off with his program. He took off, leading the dragon away. It followed him as he had hoped, but with its new wings it easily surpassed Sorey’s speed. It swiped at Sorey with its claws, sending him crashing into a stray data dump.

_“Sorey!”_

“‘m okay, keep going,” he grunted.

He shook off the temporary numbness in time to see the dragon making a beeline for him. He quickly sidestepped, narrowly missing the dragon’s jaws. It snarled and wildly thrashed its tail around, data fragments crumbling into 0’s and 1’s in its wake. Sorey took advantage of its blind rage to gain some distance, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before it recovered and resumed the chase.

“Mikleo! How much longer?”

 _“It’s compiling now!”_  Mikleo shouted.  _”Hang in there!”_

There was a roar and behind him, he saw the dragon with its wings outstretched, ready to charge at him. Sorey tried to move, but his speed felt a lot slower compared to a moment ago. All of his processes were working in overdrive, and with how many were running at once he deduced that his avatar in turn was beginning to lag. The dragon reared its head back, about to close its jaws on him. Sorey wasn’t sure what happened to avatars that were lost in this part of the ‘net, but it seemed he was going to find out. However the attack never came, as a series of red laser beams rained from above, striking the dragon. It roared, temporarily stunned and Sorey took the opportunity to place some distance between him and the dragon. Then he heard Mikleo’s voice, barely above a whisper as it came from his interface.

_“Forgive me, Sorey.”_

Just as he was about to ask Mikleo what he was talking about, his stomach lurched. He yelped, trying to regain his balance but something was different. On his screen, windows were beginning to force-close and even Mikleo’s face on the inset display was starting to fade.

“Mikleo, what did you do?” he asked the ghostly face urgently.

_“I’m removing you from the ‘net.”_

“What?!”

 _“It’s something I had been working on on the side, but I never thought I would have to use it so soon,”_  Mikleo said calmly as he began to explain.  _”Much less use it like this.”_

Sorey’s eyes widened when he noticed his arm was fading from view, white lights like fireflies floating in his vision. His eyes darted around, looking for the dragon. It was still where he had left it, but now it looked like it was trapped within a web of criss-crossing red lasers. It snarled, angrily thrashing its tail and wings against the barrier. It hummed with the impact, but Sorey knew it wouldn’t hold for long. At this, he urgently swiped the admin’s console open, turning towards the beast.

“But what about you?” Sorey’s panic began to rise, but he hoped it wasn’t beginning to show in his voice. He tried to keep it as even as he could, carefully typing in a line of code with his single free hand, the other one having completely faded by now.

 _“It will be alright,”_  Mikleo’s voice came through Sorey’s screen, even as his face had disappeared from view.  _”So long as you don’t forget.”_

“Mikleo, I don’t understand,” he whimpered.

“Sorey,” Mikleo’s voice suddenly sounded from behind him, and he turned to see the boy’s avatar floating in cyberspace, his eyes apologetic as he looked over Sorey, a bittersweet smile on his face.

There was a crash as the dragon broke out of the barrier, its large wings finally freed. Just then, Sorey’s screen blinked in response to the command he had issued earlier. His attempt to read the source code of the dragon had failed, returning only a single file name:  _MAOTELUS.EXE_. At that point, his display shut down completely.

“Mikleo!” he began, floating towards the boy. “That dragon, it’s—”

“I know you’ll come find me again,” Mikleo cut him off, causing Sorey to freeze in his tracks as he fixed Sorey with gentle, violet eyes.

“Mikleo?”

“Goodbye.”

Sorey’s heart lurched, but from Mikleo’s words or the fact that now his chest was beginning to fade into sparks, he couldn’t tell. The dragon reared on its hindlegs and growled, swooping in with its teeth pulled back and charging at the pair. In desperation, Sorey reached out to Mikleo, reached for that warm smile that he was smiling now, the one that he so rarely showed to anyone. But Sorey only watched in horror as his fingers grasped at empty air, having dissolved into a shower of sparks.

“Mikleo!”

* * *

 

Sorey opened his eyes with a startle, breathing heavily as beads of sweat rolled down the side of his cheek. His head and vision were spinning, a pounding in his mind that beat in his ears, threatening to send him sprawling again. The inside of his pod felt suffocating and he needed to get out, needed to pull himself out of the darkness.

 _< Sorey!  >_ a small voice piped up, his screen coming to life.  _< Thank goodness you’re okay, for a moment there I couldn’t find you anywhere I was so worried!  >_

The voice did little to calm his racing thoughts, and the crushing darkness remained despite the light of the display illuminating the inside of his pod.

 _< What did you guys find down there?  >_ Atakk continued, oblivious to Sorey’s panic.  _< And what happened to Mikleo? I can still find him on the ‘net but—  >_

_Mikleo._

“Mikleo…” Sorey croaked, suddenly desperate to escape from his pod. The darkness was too much,  _too much_. Even the silence that normally calmed him was oppressive, too quiet, too empty. Somewhere in his frantic state he managed to get the pod open, the creaks of light filtering through almost blinding. When the pod’s hood completely lifted, Sorey practically threw himself to the floor, feeling his world spinning again. The fluorescents danced in his eyes, white spots in his vision making his head pound.

 _< Sorey!  >_ Atakk exclaimed, sensing again that something wasn’t right. In Sorey’s years of diving, he had never seen him resurface like this.  _< Hold on, I’m going to call for help!  >_

Sorey was silent, eyes weakly lifting to the twin pod that was connected opposite his. He wanted to check on it but his limbs felt heavy, shaking fingers lying uselessly next to him.

At that moment the room’s door hissed open and there was the sound of footsteps. People were beginning to crowd around him, one of them an older woman with warm green eyes who pulled Sorey into her arms.

“Sorey! Are you alright?” she exclaimed, smoothing back his sweat-slicked hair. “What happened?”

“Mom…?”

“Zenrus!” another female voice was shouting, panic beginning to rise in her voice. “Mikleo is…!”

There was the sound of more shuffling, and then an elderly male voice sounded grave when he said, “What is this?”

“Mikleo…” Sorey whispered hoarsely, forcing himself into a somewhat sitting position despite the protest from his body. He felt a warm pressure on his back, an arm supporting him from behind. When his vision had finally cleared, his eyes scanned the pod. The external screen was now displaying some sort of chart with two lines. One of them was a single straight line, while the other was like a series of curved mountains and valleys, an even wavy line that seemed to pulse with a steady rhythm, almost like a heartbeat.

“His brain activity, it’s…” his mother was now looking at the same screen, unable to finish her sentence as her breath caught in her throat.

“It’s completely silent,” Zenrus finished for her.

_Mikleo’s brain activity… silent…?_

Sorey attempted to make sense of Zenrus’ words in his head, but it was too much. His head felt faint again, the second female’s sobs beginning to fill the room as they weighed heavily on his heart.

He remembered the words that Mikleo had spoken to him just before they entered the window, the feel of his fingertips as they clasped around his shaking hand.

 _“No need to thank me,”_  he had said.

But now Sorey couldn’t even apologise for what he had done.


	2. Waking Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Resurfacing was supposed to be easy, comfortable; but now whenever Sorey resurfaced, it was accompanied by an echo in his mind and an ache in his heart. After all the years, he never got used to resurfacing alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! Thank you for all the lovely comments on the prologue of Deep Dive AU! Now we launch into the actual story which takes place three years later.
> 
> It's still early on, but I've discovered how challenging it is to write *and* explain the lore of the world at the same time. If ever anything is unclear or you want something clarified, provided it's not a spoiler I would be happy to answer questions on Twitter or Tumblr!
> 
> Once again, huge thanks to Nami for letting me write her AU idea and for all the late nights and early mornings spent world building. <3

Resurfacing was supposed to be easy, comfortable; with the years and money that had gone into researching diving technology, developers had put a lot of effort into the diving and resurfacing process. It was to be a seamless transition when one dove into cyberspace, and then again when a diver resurfaced into the real world.

But now whenever Sorey resurfaced, it was accompanied by an echo in his mind and an ache in his heart. It was always too quiet, a crushing silence in the white noise that filled his pod.

After all the years with his constant companion and dive partner never far from his side, he never got used to resurfacing alone.

As the hood of the pod lifted, he sat up slowly, allowing his mind to adjust to being back in the real world. He shook the dive helmet off of his head, taking slow breaths to steady himself. His eyes flickered to the left, but he was met with the empty space where his dive partner would have been.

Sometimes Sorey would find himself glancing to his left out of habit, even though there was no one there; this time had been no different. Sighing, he took an earpiece from his pocket and refit it into his ear. Leaving the dive helmet in his cockpit, he swung his legs out and made his way to the other pod connected to the dive unit.

 _< Sorey, welcome back!  >_ a voice sounded from the earpiece as he leaned down to pick up the white fedora sitting in the other pod’s cockpit.

“Atakk,” he acknowledged, placing the hat on his head.

_< How were things down there?  >_

“Fine,” Sorey answered, letting his hand linger on the hood of the other pod. “Is Gramps free now?”

_< He’s currently in a meeting, but it will be over very soon! Should I let him know you’re on your way?  >_

“Please do, thanks,” Sorey said, taking his hand off the hood. A small dreamcatcher hung on the inside of the pod, decorated with orange feathers that faded to a deep red. Beads of turquoise adorned the netting and the tips of the feathers. Sorey gave it a light flick, causing it to rustle with the motion. A rueful smile crossed his face as he watched the feathers swaying gently in the air. “Any change?”

 _< None,  >_ Atakk answered almost apologetically.

“I see. I’ll be on my way then.”

With a few keystrokes to the side of the unit, the pods closed as Sorey exited the diving room. Taking a left turn, he stepped out into another lit hallway, people filing past him as they went about their ways. There was Natalie, giving him a bright smile on her way to the server room. Mason clapped him on the shoulder as he shuffled past, a pile of documents under his other arm. Sorey barely had time to respond before he had taken off, most likely on his way to a meeting of some sort.

He took the next right, where a door slid open and a woman with dark brown hair stepped out, her hair braided into a plait that fell down her back. When she noticed Sorey, she smiled at him warmly, regarding him with soft violet eyes.

“Ah, Sorey,” she said, making her way towards him.

“Muse,” he nodded at her. “Did you need me for something?”

“Now that I think about it,” she began, glancing down at the tablet that she held in her hands. “I was hoping we could talk about tomorrow’s event. But you must be here to see Zenrus, is that correct?”

“Yeah, he sent me to meet a potential client,” he explained. “So I thought I would let him know how it went.”

Muse nodded in understanding, smiling at him again.

“I shouldn’t keep you waiting then,” she said, running a hand through her bangs. “I know you have somewhere to be afterwards.”

“Thanks,” Sorey bowed towards her and she did the same. He watched her retreating back, his smile fading. The accident had changed much for them, and they had both dealt with it by throwing themselves into their work. Sorey wondered if Muse ever missed diving, but at the same time he couldn’t blame her for not wanting to dive anymore.

Stepping towards the door, it slid open to reveal a dimly lit office, multiple holographic displays floating against the back wall of the room. Right now they all showed the same insignia, a swirling logo made up of waves and clouds with the words ‘Elysia Corporation’.

Beneath the displays was a large desk, sleek with polished glass on top. A single high-back leather chair sat behind the desk, facing away from the door. Hearing the door hiss open, the chair swung around. The older man sitting there opened his eyes slowly, greeting the young man who stood at the door.

“Sorey.”

“Sir,” he bowed, stepping inside the office. He approached the desk, extending a hand towards the man.

“What’s with the formalities, boy?” Zenrus asked, swatting away the hand that was being offered over his desk. Sorey took his hand back and let his arm hang by his side, tapping a forefinger nervously.

“Always straight to business with you nowadays,” Zenrus continued, shaking his head. “Let’s try that again.”

Sorey scratched his cheek before straightening his posture. Grinning widely at the man, he said cheerfully, “I’m back, Gramps!”

“Much better,” Zenrus chuckled, motioning for him to sit. “Before I raised you as my heir, I raised you like my son. I have no intention of letting anything change that.”

Sorey nodded, understanding that away from public eye there was no need for formalities between them. After all, he knew the man in front of him as Gramps for longer than he knew him as his boss.

“Before we talk business, I was hoping we could put aside Elysia for a moment,” Zenrus was saying, resting his elbows on top of his desk. Pressing an icon on top of his desk, lights came on in the room. They highlighted the deep creases in his face, his grey hair glowing like gold in the warm light.

“Tell me about how you’ve been doing.”

Sorey’s hand curled into a fist, his face falling to the floor. He knew that Zenrus was only inquiring out of concern for him, but it didn’t make voicing his thoughts aloud any easier.

“Sometimes, I think I’m doing okay,” he began quietly. “But then I get back in there, and I find myself wondering how things could have gone differently.”

“Sorey,” Zenrus shook his head, sighing. “How many times must we tell you? None of what happened was your fault.”

“You weren’t there, Gramps!” Sorey choked out, feeling his nails digging into his palm.

“No, I wasn’t. But I know the both of you,” Zenrus cut in before he could say more. “And he definitely wouldn’t want you to live with the guilt of what happened.”

Sorey sighed, sinking back in his seat. Even though people had told him not to blame himself, he was faced with what had happened in the wake of the accident everyday. He thought of Muse, her smile never reaching her eyes anymore; he thought of his mother, who would never be able to dive with her old partner again; he thought of _him_ , his body laying so very still inside of his pod.

“You’re a kind soul, Sorey,” Zenrus went on, bowing his head. “And that’s exactly why I worry about you.”

Pressing the same icon as before, the lights dimmed again and the screens came alive, casting a blue glow throughout the room. He leaned back in his chair, staring intently at Sorey.

“Now, you had something you wished to tell me?”

Casting his previous thoughts aside, Sorey scooted closer to the desk, leaning across and touching it. A hologram appeared, and with another touch it navigated to a person’s profile.

“This was the client you sent me to meet,” Sorey ushered to the face in the profile. “His name is Uno, he’s a scientist at Ladylake.”

Touching the desk again, another hologram appeared alongside Uno’s profile. It was a news article, the front photo showing Uno standing alongside a young woman with honey-brown hair, her ponytail adorned with a floral hairpin.

“He was involved with the development of Ladylake’s visual aid hardware,” he began to explain, scrolling down the news article. Another photo pictured him with his invention; at first glance they appeared to be a pair of glasses, but Sorey knew they were much more than that. “The latest version is currently still in the prototype stage, and no release date has been set for the new model but the hardware has been so revolutionary, waiting lists are already full.”

Zenrus nodded, taking in the information. He regarded the face in the profile, meeting the man’s deep blue eyes. A scientist like himself would have much information to store and a desire to see it kept safe, especially in light of his newest invention’s pending release.

“Elysia would do well to serve a client like him,” Zenrus stated. Sorey nodded in agreement, both of them thinking the same thing. Being a smaller company, Elysia found itself struggling against larger competitors. For a high-profile scientist like Uno to consider signing on with Elysia, it was a rare privilege.

“Nothing has been decided yet,” Sorey added in quickly.

Zenrus gave a hum of approval, reaching into his jacket. From his pocket he pulled an ornate pipe decorated in gold. He turned it once over in his hands before looking at Sorey again.

“Well, I leave him in your hands.”

“Gramps?”

“He’s your client now,” he explained, tapping his pipe on the edge of his desk. “See this deal to its end; let it be the first of many you will go on to establish in your career.”

Sorey stared open-mouthed at him, but he quickly composed himself and bowed deeply. It was a large responsibility he was being tasked with, but he also considered it a great honour to be representing Elysia in this way.

“I won’t let you down, Gramps,” Sorey answered, leaning over to close the open windows.

“And tomorrow is the networking event with Muse?”

“Yes, so I’ll be busy all of tomorrow.”

“I won’t keep you then.”

The office flooded with light again, the holographic displays fading away. Zenrus stood and made his way around to the front, leaning on his walking stick for support. He walked with Sorey to the door, both of them slipping outside as it hissed open.

“I’m sorry if I made you upset earlier,” Zenrus said, but Sorey shook his head and gave the man a small smile.

“You were only checking up on me. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“Eh, what kind of son would you be otherwise?” he chuckled, lightly hitting Sorey on the side of his leg with his walking stick. “…Give him my regards.”

“Thanks, Gramps,” Sorey bowed to his parental figure as they parted ways. “I know he’ll be happy to hear that.”

Zenrus nodded and left, his walking stick tapping on the ground with an even rhythm as he walked. Sorey watched him leave before starting on the way back to the diving room. But instead of stopping there, he continued past the room, glancing at the dive units through the glass windows as he walked past. Passing by several other rooms, he came to another one with glass windows. Two women were inside, leaning over a pod in the middle of the room. One woman was holding a tablet in her arms, and she glanced up briefly in time to see Sorey through the windows. She smiled warmly as Sorey entered, coming over to him.

“Sorey,” she greeted him, engulfing him in a tight hug which Sorey returned. “Welcome back.”

“Hi Mom,” he replied. He turned to the other woman in the room, smiling at her. “Hi Melody.”

“Sorey,” Melody returned his smile with a small one of her own, clasping her hands in front of her as she dipped her head slightly at him. “It’s good to see you.”

“Thanks for all your hard work,” he said, stepping into the medical bay.

Like many of the other rooms in Elysia, it was brightly lit and lined with holographic displays. Shelves stacked with medicine and medical equipment were located at one end. In the middle of the room were some beds, alongside a single medical pod. Selene glanced down at her tablet, swiping through some open windows on the screen.

“You’re earlier than I expected, I’m guessing things went well with the client?” she asked cheerfully, looking up at Sorey.

“I guess you could say that,” he answered, scratching the back of his neck. “Everything feels like it’s happening so quickly, I’m not sure if I’m ready yet.”

“Don’t doubt yourself, dear,” she ruffled his head warmly. “Muse sees something in you, and surely Zenrus does as well.”

Pressing a kiss to his temple, she handed the tablet to Sorey. He took it from her and began scanning through the information, his mouth set in a thin line the whole time.

“It’s been three years,” Sorey sighed, handing the tablet back once he was finished with it. “Nothing has changed.”

“Unfortunately, none of us really know what we’re dealing with here,” Selene said, setting the tablet on the nearby table and folding her arms across her chest. “A condition like this has never been recorded before.”

“But what we do know is that he believed in you,” Melody added in from her side of the pod. “So if anyone can find a way to bring him back, it will be you, Sorey.”

Selene watched him nod slowly, and unfolded her arms. She could understand his frustration, having hit several walls in her own research over the past three years. She could also tell when the guilt of the accident was eating away at him, and knew that that was something she couldn’t guide him through. Touching Melody on the arm, she motioned towards the door, and the young girl nodded in understanding.

“We’ll leave the two of you alone,” Selene smiled, squeezing Sorey’s hand on her way out.

“Thanks,” he murmured as the door closed, leaving him alone in the room.

Stepping towards the medical pod, he removed his hat and left it at the foot of the pod. He touched a hand to its cool surface, where a single figure was sleeping inside. Only their breathing was so slow, Sorey was sometimes doubtful they were alive at all. But then he would squint and see the rise and fall of their chest, slow but steady. It was accompanied by the mechanical beeping of the pod’s screen, a careful blip that sounded every few seconds to indicate the person’s heartbeat.

Their skin was pale, almost the same white as the medical gown they wore. Bony limbs were all that was left of their arms and legs, muscles having weakened and deteriorated over years of disuse. Golden-brown hair pooled around their shoulders, mussed and unkempt. One hand was clasped against their chest, a feathered bracelet adorning their bony wrist.

All Sorey could think was that he looked so peaceful, undisturbed inside the comfort of his pod. Leaning over, he pressed his forehead to the glass just above where the person slept, murmuring, “I’m home, Mikleo.”

* * *

It had become a daily routine for Sorey to visit, ever since Mikleo had been moved to the medical bay following the accident. Although he didn’t dive as much as he once did, Sorey made it a point to always visit as soon as he resurfaced. He would start by telling the boy all about his day, down to every little detail because he didn’t want Mikleo to miss out on anything while he slept. Even after he had recounted the day’s events, he would find himself reminiscing about their time together.

“Gramps was worried about me,” he was telling the boy, chuckling fondly. “But you probably know all about that. Guess I’m good at making people worry!”

Sorey recalled all the times that Mikleo became flustered over him, both online and offline. He could imagine his voice in his head now, telling him to take proper care of himself or complaining that he would need to feed him once they resurfaced.

“I’ve got a networking event with your mom tomorrow,” he continued, standing up to pace around Mikleo’s pod. “She’s going to introduce me to a couple other people in the business.”

Three years ago, the thought of succeeding Zenrus as heir of Elysia had not appealed to him. If Mikleo had still been around, they would have happily spent the rest of their time as developers at Elysia and diving whenever they could. But feeling responsible for the accident, Sorey chose to distance himself from diving and took up an internship with Muse in public relations. At the time, Zenrus had thought it would do him good to gain some experience in dealing with business partners and clients before assuming responsibility of the company.

“She really misses you,” Sorey told him, leaning against the pod. His gaze fell to his feet, where he was scuffing the toe of his boot against the floor. “I do too, everyday…”

Turning to face the pod again, he leaned in and watched the boy’s sleeping figure. He touched his hand to the pod’s hood, feeling the cold glass beneath his fingertips.

“It’s been three years, Mikleo,” he closed his eyes, feeling the tears threatening to spill over. “I think it’s about time you woke up and told me some stories instead.”

He slumped back in his seat by the pod, hugging his arms. That was when he let the tears fall, apologies leaving his lips as he cried. He never stopped apologising, and it weighed on him even more knowing that Mikleo wasn’t even conscious to hear him.

“Please…” Sorey pleaded, tightening his grip on his arms. “Please, tell me how to find you.”

He lost track of how much time he spent just sitting in silence next to Mikleo’s pod. It wasn’t until the door hissed open and he felt a hand on his shoulder that Sorey realised how late it was getting.

“Hungry?” Selene smiled.

“Yeah,” he nodded, looking back at the pod. “And we both know how Mikleo is when I forget to eat.”

She nodded fondly, one hand covering her mouth as she giggled. With a squeeze to his shoulder, Selene stepped outside leaving Sorey alone once again. Pressing his forehead to the glass of the pod, he regarded Mikleo’s sleeping face with a smile, closing his eyes.

“Sweet dreams, Mikleo,” he murmured, letting his skin linger on the glass long after his words had been said.

Mikleo never responded, but Sorey always swore that he saw the boy’s smile grow wider upon hearing those words.

* * *

Elysia was powering off for the night. Atakk meant that in every loose sense of the word, as most facilities in Elysia retained power all of the time. There was the medical bay housing Mikleo’s medical pod, and of course the server room storing all of Elysia’s information and managing the whole of the network. There was also the dedicated server housing the various Normin programs, who were currently running about making shutdown preparations. The last thing anyone wanted – both human and AI – was to be caught inside the firewall once it was up. So it had fallen to the Normin to make sure there were no stray divers or AI programs lingering around as part of shutdown preparation.

< Progress update! > a loud voice boomed. It belonged to Phoenix, the most powerful of the Normin AI. Being the latest version developed by Sorey and Mikleo, he was programmed with the most advanced specs and fastest processing speeds. This made him ideal as Elysia’s leading defence, but also led to him declaring himself as pseudo-leader of the Normin.

< File server is clear! >

< Mail server is clear! >

< Diving room is clear! >

More voices piped in from the other Normin, beginning to trot into the server once their designated area was clear.

< Medical bay is clear! > Atakk brought up the rear, filing into place.

< All areas clear, preparing to execute firewall! > Phoenix boomed in his loud voice once again, waving a paw in the air.

Lines of command code appeared before him before fading from view. Atakk watched him at work, a faint grid beginning to form just outside of the server where all the Normin were assembled. Phoenix had always been one for theatrics, ever since developing from initial code to compiled program. So when he had been put in charge of the firewall system, Atakk wasn’t surprised that he had gone so far as to give it a name.

< Surging Ascent! >

The grid lit up, forming a protective wall around the whole of the Elysia network. It had been a number of years since anyone had last tried to attack Elysia, but Sorey (and Mikleo at the time) had been confident that the combined security of Phoenix and the firewall would be able to withstand any attempted hack.

Atakk was just settling down, preparing to optimise his background processes when he felt something like a sharp pinprick at the edge of the firewall. Phoenix had felt it too, as he abruptly turned around to face the rest of the Normin.

< We are under attack! > he boomed, rising up and placing his paws on his hips. < Rise up, brothers! Let us— >

< Relax, Phoenix, > Atakk was quick to step in, waving at him before he could execute antivirus measures. < It was probably just a harmless pop-up or something. >

< That somehow managed to get through the firewall?! > he thundered back.

< Maybe Sorey temporarily disabled it or something, nothing to be alarmed about, > Atakk shrugged, peering around the server. < Tell me, do you feel anything in the system? >

Phoenix opened his mouth to protest, but he bowed his head and concentrated. After a moment, he shook his head, as did some of the other Normin.

< So it wasn’t a virus, and no one has hacked the system. Harmless, I’m telling you. >

Nods of agreement were shared amongst the Normin, and so Phoenix reluctantly killed the execution of his antivirus measures, turning away to keep watch on the firewall again.

Heaving a sigh of relief, Atakk opened his interface to find a single message blinking at him. He frowned, thinking to himself how strange this was. The presence of Normin AI within the Elysia network was largely unknown to people outside of Elysia, so who in the ‘net would be trying to contact him? More than that, the sender had hacked a firewall to do so, a feat much too risky for a plain spam message.

Closer inspection revealed that the message was from an unknown user. Antivirus scans had come back clean, so Atakk deduced that it contained no immediate threat and decided to read it. Upon opening it however, the message was encrypted. He frowned again, as at first glance the encryption was unfamiliar to him. The message itself didn’t appear to be very long either, so why the user had gone to such lengths to encrypt it was beyond him.

The last thing he could think of doing was try and trace the message back to the sender, or at least gain an idea of where it had come from. But even that proved difficult, as he soon discovered there was no IP address logged to the user. That was impossible, Atakk thought to himself. It could only mean one thing: the user wasn’t using a dive unit to access the ‘net.

The message had come from within the ‘net itself.


	3. FETHMUS_MIOMA.EXE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _< As I mentioned before, it’s encrypted and I haven’t been able to decode it,  >_ Atakk huffed, folding his arms across his body. _< Which makes no sense, because the whole point of an encrypted message is so—  >_
> 
> “…So no one aside from the intended recipient is able to read it,” Sorey finished for him, staring at the ancient symbols in the message. In a modern age that had forgotten the Shepherd, there were few people who knew the ancient language. So it was only natural that the two of them had suggested using the ancient tongue as the basis of their encryption.
> 
> “Atakk, run the message through Mikleo’s decryption program.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Deep Dive AU so freaking much I never want it to end.  
> I know it's still early days and I'm only just scratching the surface of the plot but I love it so much??
> 
> I avoided writing this chapter for a while because I hit writer's block for a bit, but I should be good to power on now!  
> Please enjoy the character appearances in this chapter!

Sorey caught sight of a dark brown head next to Mikleo’s pod as he came up beside the glass windows of the medical bay. He ducked inside just as Muse lifted her head at the sound of the medical bay doors hissing open.

“I had a feeling you would be coming soon,” she smiled as Sorey pulled up a chair alongside hers.

“I couldn’t leave without seeing him first,” he said, placing his hat at the foot of the pod before taking a seat. “He would have wanted to wish me good luck for today.”

“Mm, probably,” Muse leaned back in her chair, staring down at her hands in her lap. “If he hadn’t insisted on coming with us already.”

Sorey took in her words for a moment, smiling to himself when he realised the meaning behind what she had said. If he weren’t wishing him good luck, Mikleo would have been right there with Sorey, supporting him in every way he could.

“It looks like he’s smiling,” he noted, letting a smile of his own settle on his face. “He must be having a good dream.”

“I imagine it must be, seeing as he hasn’t stirred in all this time,” she remarked, closing her eyes.

Her hands were gripped tightly in her lap, her body quivering slightly as she sought to keep herself from crying. Muse stopped shaking when she felt a warm hand closing over her own and she let out a deep sigh. Wriggling one hand out from underneath to rest on top of Sorey’s, the two of them sat in silence, taking comfort in each other’s presence. Together they listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat, watched the slight rise and fall of his chest.

It was the only way they knew him to be simply asleep and not otherwise.

* * *

The venue for the event was larger than Sorey had imagined; it had been one thing seeing it from the outside, but going inside was even more impressive. It was hardly surprising, seeing as these were once the grounds of the Pendrago Shrinechurch. Another of the structures that had been connected to the legend of the Shepherd, Sorey had only seen pictures of it from his time in the archives of the ‘net. As technology continued on the rise and more resources were put into diving and expanding the internet, the legends of old had been the first to go. Society just didn’t hold the same admiration for seraphim and the Shepherd’s legend anymore.

The event was to be set out in two parts: the first part was open to the general public, allowing people to see everything that various companies had on offer. Earlier when Sorey had walked past the other stalls, it had amazed him how many other businesses were now involved in diving and the internet. There was Ladylake with its hardware that allowed people to track their online life even in the real world; then there were companies who decided to take their business ventures online, taking advantage of the ability to reach a far wider audience.

The second part was a closed function for the purpose of networking, meant for companies to meet with potential business partners. But Sorey knew that depending on how you viewed it, those same companies could also be future competitors.

For Elysia, the day as a whole was a good opportunity to meet potential clients and make new business connections. However Sorey didn’t miss the double takes that their stall received throughout the day; he didn’t blame them, after all Elysia was relatively unknown to the public despite being established before diving technology had been implemented. Even amongst competitors, only a handful still remembered they existed and were surprised to find them still operating.

Zenrus wasn’t one for the spotlight, so he preferred to serve private clients and have them pass on word of Elysia through word of mouth. Sorey could only hope Elysia would flourish half as much after he took over from Zenrus. Stretching his arms above his head, he rolled his neck to work out the ache in his muscles from standing for so long.

“Phew, this is definitely more tiring than I thought,” he sighed, looking at Muse.

“You’re doing well for your first time,” Muse reassured him, leaning over from her spot behind the table. “Aside from that, how are you finding it?”

“Great! I think I’m starting to get the hang of things.”

“You’re a natural, Sorey,” she smiled, glancing down at her watch. “You’ve been working pretty hard, how about you take a short break?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” he chuckled.

“No need to rush getting back, take this chance to visit some of the other stalls properly,” she suggested. “Maybe one or two will stand out to you, and I’ll be sure to introduce you to them later.”

“Alright, will do. Thanks!”

Waving him off as he left, Muse took her seat and rearranged some of the materials on the table. She was grabbing some extra flyers from a box at the back of the stall when a voice from behind made her jump.

“Hello, dear sister.”

* * *

Sorey was finding it hard to navigate the cramped aisles, sounds and sights buzzing past him as he squeezed through. With how many people were around, he was lucky to move forward at all. He frowned, realising that he wasn’t going to be able to see much of the stalls at this rate.

Wriggling free from the crowd, he swallowed and realised how dry his throat was feeling. Luckily he had found himself near the cafeteria, so he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridges before queuing up to pay. When he got to the front, he pulled out some gald and prepared to hand it to the cashier. She stared at him with a funny expression, raising an eyebrow at him. Sorey matched her confused look until he realised that the cafeteria didn’t accept cash payments. His gaze flickered between the cashier and the line of people waiting behind him beginning to grow impatient. He was about to say something when a distant voice piped up, distinctly female.

“Sorry t’keep you waiting!”

He turned to see a girl with bright red hair pushing her way to the front, ignoring the glares that she was receiving as she squeezed past. She reached Sorey and slammed down an energy drink on the counter next to the bottle of water. The cashier rolled her eyes and called up the new total, tapping a finger on the edge of the table just behind the register.

The redhead leaned past Sorey and extended her arm, where a black bracelet on her wrist made contact with an instrument on the bench top. The bracelet blinked green and beeped in recognition, and the girl quickly swept up the two drinks while pushing Sorey ahead of her.

“Man, did you forget your bracelet at home or something?” the girl asked once they were clear of the cafeteria. She was still holding both of the drinks under her arm as she pushed Sorey along.

“I must have,” he answered, trying to crane his neck to face her.

“That won’t do you any good!” she exclaimed, stopping in her tracks. “You’re lucky I came along.”

Sorey turned to finally face her properly, taking in her red hair and dark denim jacket. She seemed vaguely familiar, and he scratched at his cheek while he tried to place where he had seen her. She seemed to recognise him as well, as she was staring at him intently until something clicked in her. 

“Wait a minute, I know you!” the girl exclaimed. ”You’re Zenrus’ heir aren’t you? Sorey, from Elysia?”

“That’s me,” he said, tipping his hat at her. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re Rose from Sparrowfeathers, is that right?”

“You got it!” she said cheerfully, giving him a thumbs-up.

Sparrowfeathers had started as a small company similar to Elysia, Sorey recalled, but it had soon surpassed them and was now one of the leading names in the area of security. He knew Rose as the vice-president of said company, but he hadn’t expected someone so young to be inheriting a business as large as theirs. He supposed it made it easier to see her as a potential business partner rather than a competitor in the field.

“How ‘bout we take this outside? Too many people here,” Rose suggested, already beginning to skip past Sorey. He didn’t get a chance to respond, but he found himself following her out of interest.

She led the way, surprising him with knowledge of one of the Shrinechurch’s hidden passageways and allowing them to slip to a quiet spot in the courtyard outside, away from the public. Sorey was glad to be out in the open, breathing in a deep lungful of fresh air.

“Here, catch!”

He responded quickly, grabbing the bottle of water that was being thrown to him. He caught it in time to see Rose open her can, taking a satisfied gulp of the energy drink.

“Thanks, for back there,” he smiled, holding the bottle to his neck and enjoying the cool relief it brought.

“No need for thanks,” she waved him off with a grin. “I _would_ ask for payment in return, but I don’t want to have to carry cash with me for the rest of the day. So we’ll just say you owe me one!”

Sorey blinked at her, wondering what he could possibly owe her in the future. Twisting the lid off the bottle, he took a sip of water and sighed, realising how much he needed the drink.

“Well I’ll say, I never expected to see Elysia here today,” Rose raised her can at him, imitating a toast. “Much less see Zenrus’ heir making a public appearance!”

“D-Do you have to keep referring to me in that way?” he asked nervously, lowering his bottle.

“Right, right! Sorey then,” she corrected herself, taking a sip of her drink. “How’re you finding it, representing Elysia at an event like this?”

“Well, it’s not just me,” he found himself saying, thinking of Muse back at the stall. “My PR boss is here as well, she’s the one who wanted me to come and gain some experience.”

“Ah right, still new to it?”

“Three years,” Sorey shrugged. “But it’s my first time at something like this.”

“To be fair, you guys don’t exactly make a lot of public appearances,” she stated.

“Gr— Zenrus prefers it like that,” he shrugged once again, leaning against the wall.

“Sounds like him,” she remarked, tapping a finger on her chin. “Hmm, though I could have sworn he had _two_ heirs in mind.”

Sorey said nothing, pretending to be distracted by a stray water drop that had begun trailing its way down the side of his bottle. The details of Mikleo’s accident had been kept quiet, those outside of Elysia knowing little more than what had already been shared, which wasn’t much to begin with. Sorey was thankful that Zenrus wasn’t one for large public appearances. As it was, no one knew of his exact condition so the circumstances were intentionally vague.

“Say, I have to ask,” Rose cut in, eyeing him. “I thought Elysia specialised in information storage.”

“We do,” Sorey answered, grateful for the change in subject as he met her gaze. “What about it?”

“Well it’s just that as far as I know, you guys haven’t outsourced your security system to any other company,” she shrugged. “So I’m just curious, how are you keeping your information secure?” 

Sorey scratched his cheek, smiling nervously. The fact that Elysia had AI programs within its network was to remain their secret. The knowledge of AI in itself was unknown to regular people, most never having interacted with any aside from computer-controlled avatars within the ‘net. As a result, he couldn’t tell her that it was the Normin responsible for strengthening Elysia’s security system.

The only problem with that was Sorey was a terrible liar. Mikleo had used to tell him as much, and in their childhood it made it easy for him to tell when Sorey was hiding something. It was also how Mikleo had known that Sorey didn’t appreciate the hat the boy had gifted him on his seventeenth birthday – the last birthday they had celebrated together before their final dive. Toying with the brim of said hat now, Sorey realised that Rose was still waiting on an answer from him.

“Let’s just say,” he began. “We’ve been in the business for a long time.”

“Not as long as Sparrowfeathers,” she pointed out, but seemed to be content with his answer. Sorey did a double take at her words, beginning to wonder to himself if Sparrowfeathers really had been around for as long as Elysia, if not longer.

“Anyway, I’ve probably kept you long enough!” Rose said. “But I can count on seeing more of you from now on, right Sorey?”

“No promises, but it would be nice to see you again, Rose!” Sorey grinned, holding out his hand for a shake. She glanced down at it and grinned, taking his hand.

As he watched the flash of red hair disappear through the doorway and listened to the sound of her humming echoing in the passageway, he looked down at his hand. In his palm was a business card, marked with a small memo that he immediately read in her voice: _‘You owe me one!’_

* * *

“Michael,” Muse’s voice was firm as she turned to face him, the flyers in her arms.

Before her stood a man with sandy brown hair, one arm on his hip as he leaned with his weight on one leg. He was frowning, glancing between her and the logo of Elysia at the back of the stall.

“When I saw Elysia on the list, I knew you would be here,” he said coolly, reaching a hand out to sift through the materials on the table.

“As did I upon seeing Camlann,” she replied, setting down the flyers in an empty spot.

“I thought Zenrus wasn’t one for public appearances.”

“He’s not,” she answered after a brief pause. “Sorey is here in his stead.”

“Ah, Selene’s son,” Michael said knowingly. “So he will be succeeding Zenrus after all.”

Muse held her gaze, gripping her arms around herself. She had known she couldn’t avoid talking to her older brother, but still she wished for more time to prepare herself. Things were tense with Michael, and the last thing she wanted to do was add to the already strained relationship.

“Zenrus has faith in him, as do I.”

“Faith,” he repeated with a scoff. “Where will that get both of you?”

“Michael, if this is…” she began but cut herself off, shaking her head.

Michael narrowed his eyes at her, as if daring her to finish the sentence but turned away, proceeding to drum his fingers on the table. Muse let her gaze drop, grateful that he didn’t push her to voice her thoughts aloud. This was the first time they had spoken in a while, and she wondered if there was another reason for him coming to see her.

“How is my nephew?” he asked suddenly, turning to face her again.

Muse visibly tensed up, her fingers digging into her skin.

“Mikleo is fine,” she finally replied, meeting his gaze. She couldn’t tell if it was concern, anger or some other emotion visible in his eyes, as she only held his gaze for a fleeting moment before he broke eye contact.

“I take that to mean he’s stable.”

Muse said nothing in response, as how else could she describe Mikleo’s current state? She hugged her arms around herself, staring at the floor. He might not have gotten worse, but that didn’t mean he was getting better either.

“Three years,” Michael said suddenly, causing Muse to lift her head at his voice.

“Michael?”

“Three years, and it’s kept Mikleo alive all this time,” he gritted out, his hand curling into a fist. “So why couldn’t it have done the same for _her_?”

Muse’s gaze was rueful, her fingers fiddling with the watch on her wrist. She hadn’t expected him to mention it, and now that he had brought it up she was at a loss for how to respond.

“Michael, you can’t—” she paused, pursing her lips. “There was nothing we could have done.”

“Zenrus promised!” he hissed, whirling around to face her. “He told me he would look after her; she said she was getting better!”

Muse flinched under his tone of voice, shrinking away from him. Her hands flew to her chest, clasped tightly there as if doing so would still her racing heart. While she hadn’t been as close to her, she knew how much she had meant to Michael.

“I know,” she managed weakly, even though she knew it was a partial lie. “You still miss her.”

This time it was Michael who was lost for words. He had done well to stave off his feelings thus far, but being here with Muse and in the presence of Elysia had sent those emotions rippling through him again.

“Michael, if you would only listen to what Zenrus has to say,” Muse began to plead with him, reaching out to grab his arm. “You left before you even gave him a chance to explain!”

He flinched at the grip on his arm, stopping in his tracks. But he soon tore away from her, answering bitterly, “I’m done listening.” before leaving the stall, brisk steps that gradually faded away while Muse was left stunned by the encounter. Her arm hung limply in mid-air, as if she had still been holding onto Michael.

* * *

It was late by the time Sorey and Muse returned to Elysia, but they still needed to debrief on the events of the day. They stopped outside Muse’s office, but neither of them made any movement to enter.

“It’s been a long day, Sorey,” Muse finally said, turning to him. “Let’s save the debrief for tomorrow.”

Sorey noticed how her shoulders seemed to sag, the weight of something heavy on her mind. Even her violet eyes were more dull than usual, devoid of their usual clarity. He didn’t want to worry, but it was very rarely that he saw her like this. For as long as he had known her, Muse always had a smile on her face as she selflessly cared for others. Losing Mikleo had been hard on her, but he sensed that this was something else entirely.

“Alright, thank you for everything today,” Sorey bowed to her quickly, not wanting to keep her any longer.

“Goodnight, Sorey,” she said, giving him a tired smile as she watched him leave in the direction of the medical bay.

Because it was after hours, everyone had returned home by now. It was eerily quiet, filled only with the sound of his boots as he walked through the empty halls. Taking his earpiece from his pocket, Sorey fit it into his ear and gave it a small tap.

 _< Oh Sorey, you’re finally back!  >_ Atakk immediately exclaimed once Sorey was connected over the comm.

“Yeah, have you been waiting for me?” he asked curiously, wondering what had been so urgent.

_< Well, it’s just that I received an encrypted message last night.  >_

“You did?” Sorey stopped in his tracks then, aware of what he was implying. “Who from?”

 _< That’s the thing, it wasn’t sent from a user,  >_ Atakk began to explain. _< I think it came from within the ‘net.  >_

Sorey took a moment to process Atakk’s words, wondering if that was even possible. There was only one way to find out. He pulled a pair of glasses from his inner shirt pocket, wiping the smudges with the hem of his jacket. When he put them on and pressed a button on the side of the frame, an interface lit up before his eyes, and he had to blink a couple times to adjust to using the visual aid again.

“My interface is online,” he said, resuming his walk towards the medical bay. “Can you show me the message?”

There was a pause and then Atakk was crawling into Sorey’s field of vision, waving his paw in the air. A new window appeared in his interface, showing the message’s single line of content. Upon seeing it, Sorey’s pace slowed and his breath hitched.

 _< As I mentioned before, it’s encrypted and I haven’t been able to decode it,  >_ Atakk huffed, folding his arms across his body. _< Which makes no sense, because the whole point of an encrypted message is so—  >_

“…So no one aside from the intended recipient is able to read it,” Sorey finished for him, staring at the ancient symbols in the message. In a modern age that had forgotten the Shepherd, there were few people who knew the ancient language. So it was only natural that the two of them had suggested using the ancient tongue as the basis of their encryption.

“Atakk, run the message through Mikleo’s decryption program.”

 _< What?  >_

“Just trust me,” Sorey said, feeling his heart hammer in his chest.

Atakk did as instructed, finding Mikleo’s program hidden with the other redundant and unused applications. The ancient symbols began to change, decrypting themselves into meaningful letters.

 _< It... it worked!  >_ Atakk exclaimed, whirling around to face Sorey. They both stared at the decrypted message, its contents now readable to both of them: _Sorey_.

A wave of emotions ran through Sorey, and he had to take off his interface before the tears in his eyes threatened to damage them. He was outside the medical bay now, leaning one hand against the glass walls to steady himself. From where he was standing, he could make out the faint head of brown hair, the pale skin almost translucent in the light of the pod.

 _< What does this mean?  >_ Atakk asked, his voice coming urgently from the earpiece.

“It means we’re going in,” Sorey said firmly, pushing off from the medical bay’s glass wall and making his way towards the diving room.

They only had an hour before Elysia was due to power off, so there could be no daydreaming this time around. Pocketing the glasses, he swiped at a screen and enlarged Atakk’s message, hoping to find some sort of extra clue as to where it had originated.

 _< It was sent from an unknown user,  >_ Atakk was explaining, pointing at the empty field where it normally would have shown the sender’s name. _< Got Phoenix all worked up when the message managed to slip through Elysia’s firewall.  >_

 _Mikleo helped to develop it, so of course he would know how to get past it,_ Sorey thought to himself. But with no way of knowing whether the message had really come from Mikleo, he couldn’t voice that thought aloud.

“No IP address?” Sorey asked, folding his arms across his chest.

_< The user wasn’t using a dive unit to access the ‘net, so no IP address logged.  >_

“Where are you, Mikleo?” Sorey murmured to himself, eyes darting across the screen. “Show me the message’s properties, get me anything you can; file name, creation date, file path – anything.”

Lines of information streamed into the screen as he began to tap a finger on his arm. Suddenly his eyes widened and he quickly unfurled his arms.

“There! Look at the file size,” he said urgently, pointing. “The file size is too big for the contents of the message.”

 _< For a single word it should only be a couple kilobytes at max but this one is reaching into the megabytes,  >_ Atakk nodded, turning once more to face Sorey. _< What are you thinking?  >_

Separating the numbers into a separate window, he stared at them looking for a pattern. Mikleo had always loved puzzles, and if Sorey didn’t know better this was probably his way of challenging him to a contest, making sure he hadn’t lost his touch after three years.

“If you convert it from megabytes to kilobytes,” he began, waving his hand and watching the numbers change. “You get this number. But it can still be converted further into bytes.”

Once again it changed, leaving him with a rather large number. Chunking it further gave a set of two smaller numbers, and something in Sorey clicked.

“Atakk.”

_< They look like coordinates.  >_

“That’s it,” Sorey breathed, wasting no time in making his way over to his dive unit. “Atakk send me those coordinates, I’ll meet you down there.”

Quickly punching in some keystrokes to the side of the unit, the hoods opened and Sorey stopped beside Mikleo’s pod. He flicked the dreamcatcher, bowing his head.

“I’m coming, Mikleo,” he murmured, removing his hat and placing it in Mikleo’s cockpit.

Climbing into his pod, he pulled his helmet on and began running preliminary dive preparations.

“Initiating dive sequence,” he said as he pressed the button and the hood of the pod lowered. He was plunged into darkness, the interface’s display casting its glow inside. Normally the silence in his pod was paralysing, but there was too much on his mind at the moment to focus on it.

“Diving in three, two, one…”

He closed his eyes and pressed the button, his stomach lurching as his consciousness was thrust into the ‘net. 

* * *

“Atakk, are you certain of those coordinates?” Sorey asked over his comm link.

_“If the numbers you found were indeed coordinates then yes, they’re correct.”_

Sorey looked up from his interface, where he was standing in front of his and Mikleo’s home within the ‘net. He should have known the moment he began following the coordinates, especially when the route was so familiar to him. He was met by Atakk upon opening the door, closing it behind him as he stepped into the hallway.

“I didn’t find anything,” Atakk frowned before Sorey had a chance to ask the question.

“I’ll double-check the house,” Sorey answered, walking into the lounge room. If Mikleo was trying to communicate with him, it was possible that he would be hiding something only intended for Sorey to find.

Their house wasn’t very big, built for the purpose of convenience rather than somewhere they intended to live. When they had spent most of their time exploring the archives, their house didn’t see much use. The only room that looked the most lived in was the study upstairs, with various books and trinkets lining the shelves. Of the two desks in the room, one was empty and looked like it hadn’t been used in some time; the other was piled with open books and scribbled notes, most of them on the deep ‘net.

“Looks like you hit a dead end as well,” Atakk sighed as he caught sight of Sorey coming down the stairs.

“No, there’s one place we haven’t checked,” Sorey pointed out, but his eyes seemed dark as he said the words.

“Are you thinking of diving to the archives?” Atakk asked, staring up at Sorey with a degree of uncertainty. “You haven’t been down there since…”

“Since losing Mikleo, I know,” Sorey finished for him, staring down at the floor. He had thought about it, but he realised that diving for information just wouldn’t be the same without Mikleo to share his discoveries with. “But I want to be sure we haven’t missed anything.”

Atakk nodded in understanding, waving his arm to input the command to execute the backdoor program. As the door shimmered and Atakk opened it, Sorey looked into the swirling mass of image bins, taking a deep breath. He stepped inside the portal, immediately feeling something like a heavy weight on his chest, causing him to wince.

“Ugh… what is this?” he grunted.

< It’s the strain of the neural link, > Atakk explained as he followed through to rest on his shoulder, looking up at him anxiously. < As I feared, it’s too much for one person. >

“So I should make this quick then,” Sorey said weakly.

< That would be best, yes. >

Nodding, he made his way down to the archives and scanned the area. Before him were image bins and files waiting to be accessed, as if he had never left. He didn’t realise how much he had missed having access to the archives, but his heart throbbed painfully when he remembered he didn’t have Mikleo by his side this time.

< Sorey, over there, > Atakk’s voice cut into his thoughts, and he shook his head. Atakk had a paw stretched out as he pointed in a direction. Sorey floated over as quickly as he could, seeing what had caught Atakk’s attention as he drew closer. It was a cloud of data, formless and anxiously flitting from side to side. Sorey sensed that something wasn’t right by the way it was shimmering.

< Its code is unstable, so it can’t exist in the archive level, > Atakk explained as Sorey began reaching for it. The cloud of data seemed to turn towards Sorey’s hand, but before it could reach him Sorey felt his neural link weakening, threatening to send him back to the first level. The cloud of data continued to flit about nervously, and he soon saw the reason for its growing anxiety. A window opened behind it, and through the window Sorey saw pitch black. It was the third level, the same place where he had lost Mikleo. Seeing it again caused his breath to hitch, painful chills running through his body as his concentration wavered.

With a gasp, he was thrust back through the backdoor portal and sent sprawling onto the carpet of his house. Atakk came tumbling after him, grabbing hold of his helm to keep it from falling.

“Atakk, we have to go back!” Sorey said urgently, getting to his feet.

“You can’t, the neural link is too much for you on your own!” he fired back anxiously. “If we aren’t careful, you’ll end up just like Mikleo!”

Sorey froze at this, imagining himself in Mikleo’s place for a moment. He would be just like him, breathing so slowly he could be mistaken for dead, cold to touch through the glass of the pod. Shaking his head, he took some slow breaths to ease his mind until he could think clearly again.

“So that’s it,” Sorey said, leaning with his back on the wall and pressing the palm of his hand against his forehead. “Another dead end.”

“Not quite.”

“You just said I can’t go back down there, so unless there’s some way for me to strengthen my connection…” he began offhandedly, but Atakk wasn’t denying the fact. “Is there?”

“If you were to armatise with an AI, you would have the extra diving power you need to explore the archives,” Atakk replied.

“Armatise?”

“It’s a process that would allow an AI to become part of your source code,” he explained. “AI typically don’t armatise with just anyone, as armatisation requires that our source code be modified by the user in order to accommodate them.”

“And by allowing us to modify your source code, we can effectively control whatever we want an AI to do,” Sorey placed a knowing hand on his chin, to which Atakk nodded. Hackers like him would be the most dangerous users to armatise with, considering their extensive knowledge of code and often malicious motives.

“What about you, Atakk?” Sorey turned towards him, all seriousness in his voice. “Would you be willing to armatise with me?”

“Do you even need to ask?” he smirked, puffing out his chest. “Of course I will!”

“Thank you, Atakk,” Sorey said with a sigh of relief, extending his hand towards him. Atakk took it, fitting his smaller hand into Sorey’s larger one.

“But I’m only a simple AI program,” he said with a frown. “My armatus would only be enough to stabilise your connection in the archives.”

“That’s all I need,” Sorey confirmed. “Please, I’m counting on you Atakk.”

With a nod, Atakk took a few steps back and opened his interface. Sorey stood and faced him, watching with curiosity as he began preparing his code for armatisation.

“We need to exchange permissions to allow you to modify my source code,” Atakk urged, pointing to Sorey’s interface.

He did as he was told, keying in some lines of code in the admin’s console. After a brief delay, there was a chime from Atakk’s interface.

“Requesting access to program: ATAKK.EXE.”

Atakk nodded in acknowledgment, confirming the request and sending a notification of his own for good measure.

“Authorising allowed user: Sorey. Authorising permissions.”

Peeking out from behind his interface, he blinked upon looking at Atakk. A list of new options was available to him now, including the ability to edit his source code. Atakk closed his interface and peered at Sorey, affixing him with a firm gaze.

“Now Sorey, modify my source code,” he commanded. “And become one with my program.”

Sorey took a deep breath and nodded, hovering over the option. When he pressed it, Atakk became a cloud of data and disappeared from view. His source code appeared on Sorey’s interface, and though he was alarmed by the AI’s sudden disappearance, he could also feel him alongside him, guiding his way around his code. Atakk was helping Sorey to modify his code, creating spaces for him to fit into, preparing him to merge with his code. And somehow he knew when it was done, when Atakk’s code had been successfully modified for his use. A single command came to him in his thoughts, and he voiced it aloud.

“Executing file: ATAKK.EXE.”

The moment he said those words, he closed his eyes. Sorey could feel Atakk’s source code surrounding his avatar, covering it almost like a second skin. When he flexed his fingers, something like a series of electrical impulses ran through them, tingling up his arm. Around him the ‘net was thrumming with activity, pushing and pulling at every fibre in his skin.

There was a steady pounding in his mind, rhythmic like a heartbeat but much too slow for it to belong to a normal person’s. Concentrating, he realised that the rhythm was one he knew, one he had memorised after hearing it every day, unchanged for the last three years.

“Atakk, this is…”

 _< Yes, it’s Mikleo’s heartbeat,  >_ he heard Atakk’s voice from somewhere in his mind, ringing clear like his own thought. _< You’re tapping into the feed I have of his pod.  >_

Opening his eyes, Sorey noticed a new window in the bottom left corner of his interface. It was a video feed of Mikleo’s pod, his face peaceful in sleep. Beneath the feed were two lines, one representing his heart rate and the other his brain activity. Seeing it, Sorey’s face became rueful.

“Thank you, Atakk,” he murmured, facing the front door. “So how does the armatus work?”

 _< Basically, you’re part-AI now,  >_ Atakk said to him in his mind. _< Why don’t you try it? You should be able to run my backdoor program with no problem.  >_

Sorey stared blankly at the door, where he could feel something tugging at the tips of his fingers. Raising an arm, he tried to recall Atakk’s actions whenever he opened the portal to the archives. As an avatar, he would have needed to manually type in lines of code and wait for them to be executed. But an AI had direct access to the ‘net, allowing their commands to be executed almost immediately. Before his fingertips, lines of code appeared and floated in mid-air before fading. He felt as each line of code was executed, each string being parsed and analysed. The door shimmered, and he could feel the movement of the archives behind the portal.

 _< Perfect, couldn’t have done it better myself!  >_ Atakk exclaimed within his mind.

“Let’s go!” Sorey said, jumping into the portal.

Unlike the first time he had dove into the archives by himself, the weight on his chest was gone. As Atakk had said, their armatus allowed him the strength of the link he needed to remain in this level. But despite his words, it appeared the cloud of data from earlier was nowhere to be found.

“It’s gone,” he said to himself with a frown.

 _< Without a stable form, it can’t exist at this level,  >_ Atakk pointed out. _< Which means there’s only one place for it to go.  >_

Sorey visibly shivered at this, hugging his arms tight around himself. But he knew that if he wanted to find answers, he would need to confront the guilt of his past. With that in mind, he made his resolve to find a way into the deep ‘net again. He extended his arm, searching for any trace of the cloud of data from before. If he was able to pinpoint it, perhaps recall the history of any recently closed windows, he could—.

< Why hello there! >

Sorey turned at the sound, coming face to face with a beautiful female avatar. She had long white hair, falling in a long curtain over her back where it faded into rosy red at the tips. She was wearing a crimson-coloured jacket and tall thigh-high boots. On her head was a gold tiara, glowing with a faint reddish hue.

“Hello?” Sorey blinked, still staring at her. Shaking his head, he stammered out an apology for his behaviour and quickly composed himself.

“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve never met another user in these archives before.”

The avatar giggled at him, a tinkling laughter like a clear bell. Sorey cocked his head, unsure what he had said that made her laugh.

 _< That’s because she’s not a user,  >_ Atakk added in helpfully from his mind, a hint of amazement in his voice. _< She’s an AI!  >_

“What?” Sorey looked back at her, his mouth hanging open. The woman’s appearance resembled that of an avatar’s and even sounded like one; nothing like the mechanical computer-controlled programs Sorey had interacted with.

< Your AI is right! > she giggled once again, floating around him. 

“Huh, you can hear him?”

< Yes, I can feel your connection, > the female AI closed her eyes, folding her hands across her chest. < The armatus is strong, although the permissions were exchanged only recently. >

Sorey stared at her in wonder, never having met anyone like her before. Wanting to find out more, he swiped open his interface, glancing at his navigational map. There was no icon representing the AI, the only icon on his map belonging to himself. That wasn’t possible unless she was cloaking herself, or she really was telling the truth and she wasn’t a user.

He would need to read her source code to be sure; as avatars were based on human consciousness, what source code they had was usually protected and never meant to be readable. As a result, any request to read the source code of an avatar would return an error. Waving his hand, he felt the request being processed and executed almost immediately. When the code was fetched, Sorey was surprised to find that a lot of it appeared unreadable. The only meaningful bit of information he had managed to extract was the file name.

“FETHMUS_MIOMA.EXE?”

< Yes! That’s me! > the AI sang, clapping her hands together as she tilted her head to the side.

“Feth… mus Mioma… Fethmus… Mio...” Sorey muttered to himself, stumbling over the name a couple of times. “Ah sorry, your file name is a bit of a handful for me to say.”

He gave her an apologetic smile, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. The AI seemed to understand, responding with a warm smile of her own.

< I guess it is, > she giggled, floating down to his level. Long waves of her stark white hair trailed behind her, settling around her shoulders. She tapped a finger on her chin in thought, before her eyes lit up and she exclaimed in surprise.

< Oh! When I was human, my name was Lailah. So please feel free to call me that instead! >

“Lailah? That’s certainly a lot easier to say than…” he laughed before stopping mid-sentence, his eyes widening. “Hold on a moment… you were once human?!”

< Why yes! > Lailah smiled, cocking her head to the side once more. < Where did you think AI came from? >


	4. Into the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In reality, he didn’t know what was down there; what he thought he knew was probably only a small part of the dark ‘net. And with how the internet was constantly changing, there was no telling what it would look like now after three years.
> 
> “I know it’s reckless of me,” Sorey said quietly. “But up until yesterday, I was doubtful that there was a way to find him at all. Then decoding the message from the ‘net, and meeting you, Lailah – it made me realise that he had never given up on me. So I want to believe in him; believe that he’s still out there, and is waiting for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this fic (Follow You [Into The Dark]) was meant to be reserved in case I ever wrote Tainted AU in the future, but in the end I wound up adopting it for Deep Dive AU. :'D
> 
> But while planning this chapter, I managed to connect the title into the world lore so it worked out in the end.  
> I hope you enjoy the result!
> 
> Once again, thank you to [Nami](http://twitter.com/defragmentise) for being my beta and allowing me to write for this AU.
> 
> ~~would you believe we're only on chapter 4 of 20-something~~

Sorey replayed Lailah’s words several times over in his head, considering her question properly. The Normin series were originally developed from open source software available on the ‘net. Aside from them, this was Sorey’s first interaction with another AI and he wasn’t even aware that there were other types of AI.

“But Atakk…” Sorey frowned, his words trailing off as he scratched at his head.

< Allow me to explain, > Lailah smiled, opening her palm. A floating hologram appeared above it, where a projection of Atakk was running on the spot.

“H-How did you—?!”

< I hope you don’t mind, I accessed a small part of your memory archives to get his appearance down correctly, > she giggled.

Sorey nodded slowly, Atakk’s awe and confusion coming through via their shared mind.

< The one you call Atakk is a code-based AI; most of the existing programs within the ‘net are code-based, including any computer-controlled programs that users interact with, > she began. < But even then, Atakk is different; I can see he was programmed with the ability to self-learn, and that allowed him to develop a unique personality of his own. >

Opening her other palm another hologram appeared, this one a projection of herself. She was floating in mid-air, her hair billowing around her as she hovered.

< The other type of AI are human-based AI; born from human consciousness, these AI were once human. We often resemble avatars, so it’s no surprise that you thought I was a user at first! >

 _< That would explain the source of her power,  >_ Atakk murmured.

“Amazing…” Sorey said quietly as Lailah closed her palms, and the two holograms disappeared from view. Suddenly, he began to take in the weight of Lailah’s words.

“Lailah! You said there are others like you!” he said desperately, the smallest spark of hope blossoming in his chest. “Please tell me, do you know of any other AI who were once human?”

Sorey watched her process his question, almost unable to contain his excitement. After a moment of hesitation, Lailah answered him. He supposed that even for a powerful AI like herself, there was bound to be some input lag.

< I’m sorry, I haven’t met anyone else down here, human or AI, > she responded with a shake of her head. < You would be the first, so it came as a surprise to me when I saw you here. >

“O-Oh, I see,” Sorey said, feeling his chest deflate. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed; this was the closest he had come to a clue in the three years he had spent searching for Mikleo. But he sensed that this AI program – Lailah – was most definitely his best shot at finding him.

< Speaking of which, I never asked for your name! > she clapped her hands together, looking at Sorey expectantly.

“Oh right! It’s nice to meet you, Lailah. I’m Sorey!” he grinned, offering his hand to her.

< Sorey? > she repeated, blinking. But she soon smiled and took his hand in both of hers, squeezing gently. < It’s my pleasure, Sorey. >

 _< Sorey, we should hurry back to Elysia,  >_ Atakk cut in urgently. _< It’s almost time.  >_

< Elysia… so you really are… > Lailah murmured quietly to herself as Sorey looked at her.

“Is something wrong, Lailah?”

She shook her head and gave him a warm smile, releasing his hands.

“There’s so many things I want to ask you about, but I don’t have time right now,” Sorey said to her. “Can I come back and see you tomorrow?”

< Of course. I’ll be here, Sorey, > she smiled. < I would very much like to learn things from you as well. >

“Thank you, Lailah!”

She watched as Sorey created a portal and left the archives, mildly impressed by the ease with which he utilised the armatus. Her gaze lingered even long after he had gone, both hands clasped to her chest as she recalled his words and the appearance of his avatar.

< You’ve changed, Sorey. >

* * *

Sorey couldn’t remember the last time he had beaten his mother to Elysia. If he had to be honest, the last time he recalled doing so was probably in his youth when he and Mikleo had begun diving together. He couldn’t stop thinking about Lailah and the promise they had made to see each other again, so he had been eager to get into the day’s tasks and finish them quickly.

He now found himself in Muse’s office, sitting through their debrief of yesterday’s networking event. It was his last meeting for the day, so it was no surprise that his fingers stirred restlessly against his knee, tapping to some random rhythm. A sheepish look came over him when Muse giggled at his excitement, but to be honest he was glad to see her back to her regular self again. Her unease from yesterday seemed non-existent each time she smiled as she gently told Sorey to settle down again.

When Sorey was finally released, Zenrus was waiting for him outside Muse’s office. Under the older man’s watchful gaze, it was enough to root him to the spot and affix the man with a nervous smile.

“Hi, Gramps,” he said as cheerfully as he could.

“About time you slowed down,” Zenrus muttered, shaking his head. “Relax, boy. What’s got you in such a hurry anyway? You’ve barely stopped since this morning.”

“Guess I’m just really pumped after yesterday!” he offered with a grin. Zenrus raised an eyebrow at him, motioning for Sorey to follow.

“You were heading to the diving room, weren’t you?”

Sorey wasn’t sure whether to find Zenrus’ insight amazing or plain scary. He shrunk under his question, and the hesitation in his response seemed to be answer enough for Zenrus.

“I haven’t seen you this excited to dive since… well, I’m sure you don’t need to be reminded,” he said quietly to which Sorey nodded. “Meeting a client?”

“A-Ah… something like that, I suppose,” Sorey chuckled, scratching his cheek.

He fell into step beside Zenrus, neither of them saying anything more as they walked. It wasn’t long before his thoughts drifted back to Lailah and her revelation that humans could become AI. He wondered if Zenrus knew anything about that; considering how long Elysia had been around for, maybe he would know something. But before he could say anything Zenrus stopped, causing Sorey to stop in his tracks too before realising they had made it to the diving room.

“Be careful down there,” Zenrus murmured, his gaze drifting to the dive units through the glass window.

Sorey blinked at Zenrus’ words, unsure how to respond for a moment. It seemed Zenrus had meant to leave it at that – a warning – as he didn’t wait for a response from the boy before continuing on his way. Sorey shook his head and slipped into the diving room, making his way over to his dive unit. He bit his lip as the pods opened, staring at the empty pod next to his own. The dreamcatcher hanging there spun slowly, catching the light from the room.

He realised he hadn’t been to see Mikleo since yesterday morning, the events of the ‘net having kept him occupied recently. He had never missed his chance to talk to Mikleo, not since he had been transferred to the medical pod. He wondered what Muse and his mother would make of it, but he told himself it was just for today. He knew Mikleo was of the forgiving type anyway.

“Message received, Mikleo,” Sorey murmured.

* * *

Upon meeting up with Atakk, Sorey was eager to dive down to the archives and see Lailah again. He was about to engage the armatus when Atakk placed a hand on Sorey’s arm, a serious look on his face. Sorey dropped his arm and looked at the AI, eyeing him warily.

“Before we go, there’s something you should know about Lailah,” Atakk began.

“What is it?”

“She was able to gain access to our memory archives – not just yours, but mine as well.”

Sorey thought carefully to yesterday when Lailah had accessed his memory archives to view Atakk’s appearance.

“I… I didn’t think about that.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Atakk said. “But the fact that she was able to bypass my own security measures so easily – Sorey, these human-based AI are much more powerful than I could have imagined.”

Sorey sucked in a deep breath; Lailah had only used her power to access their memory archives, but neither of them knew the full extent of her abilities. What was to say she wasn’t capable of something more powerful, more harmful?

“I don’t sense any malicious intent coming from her,” Atakk continued. “But if we meet more of these AI in the future, there’s no telling if all of them will be as friendly as Lailah.”

Sorey’s face paled, a sinking feeling in his chest. Just like that, he had unintentionally put Elysia and everyone else in danger. Moreso, Atakk had a direct link to Mikleo; if Lailah hadn’t been a friendly AI, he didn’t even want to think about what could have happened to him.

“Sorry, Atakk,” he choked out. “I put everyone at risk, and I didn’t even know.”

“Pfft, you really are a kind soul, aren’t you Sorey?” Atakk shook his head, squeezing Sorey’s arm. “I’m not blaming you, I’m just telling you to be careful. And so you understand what it is you’re about to ask her.”

Patting his arm, he straightened up and faced Sorey with his hands on his hips.

“Now, let’s go see Lailah.”

Sorey nodded, taking a deep breath. He wouldn’t regret his request, not if it led him to the answers he needed.

“Let’s go,” Sorey murmured, closing his eyes. “Executing file: ATAKK.EXE.”

* * *

They found Lailah floating near the archives on the Great Sanctuary of Ladylake. She was analysing images of the Sacred Blade that she had pulled from the image bin, peering at them as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. As she turned and caught sight of Sorey floating over to her, she flashed him a warm smile.

< Sorey! It’s good to see you again. >

 _< We came, Lailah!  >_ Atakk chimed in.

“Nice to see you too,” Sorey added, peering at the images behind her. “Hmm? Are you familiar with the Shepherd’s legend too?”

< Oh that? I know a little about it! > she hummed, turning back towards the images. < A friend of mine used to tell me stories about it all the time. The Lady of the Lake was my favourite character! >

“She was pretty amazing, looking after so many Shepherds and having the powers of purification at that!”

< Yes! I looked up to her strength and always aspired to be like her, > she giggled, minimising the images and folding them back into the image bin.

“So Lailah, you remember things from when you were human?” Sorey began, tilting his head to the side.

< Oh yes! It goes without saying that AI don’t need to eat, so the smell and taste of freshly baked madeleines is something I fondly remember from my time as a human! >

 _< Just how long have you been an AI for?  >_ Atakk asked.

< Ah, it’s hard to say, > Lailah said, shrugging her shoulders. < It’s easy to lose track of time within the ‘net; some days feel longer, and other times they end up blurring together. >

“And… you’ve been alone this whole time? That sounds incredibly lonely,” Sorey frowned, but Lailah quickly shook her head.

 _< Lailah, how did you become an AI?  >_ Atakk cut in, asking the question that had been on Sorey’s mind for a while now.

< I’m sorry? >

“Atakk wants to know how you became an AI,” Sorey repeated the question for her, but Lailah had suddenly become preoccupied with flicking through the image bins again.

< Oh! Sorey, you never told me what you were doing down here when I met you! > she exclaimed without looking away from the image bins. Sorey blinked at her, and he could also feel Atakk’s confusion through their shared mind. They decided not to linger on her strange behaviour, choosing to answer her question.

“I was… looking for someone,” Sorey said quietly, focusing his eyes elsewhere. “The only clue I have is a message that I received from within the ‘net.”

 _< Well, that and the stray cloud of data we managed to find earlier. Although it disappeared before we could follow it,  >_ Atakk added in.

< It’s quite strange to find something like that at this level, > Lailah said. < What was it doing here, I wonder? >

“It could be nothing, but it appeared right after I decoded the message. If it’s another clue, then...”

< You want to find it, but you think it’s further in the ‘net, > Lailah deduced, to which he nodded.

Lailah eyed him anxiously, clasping her hands to her chest. She pursed her lips, knowing what it is he was trying to ask of her.

< You don’t know what’s down there, Sorey, > Lailah warned, shaking her head.

“I do,” Sorey whispered, his hand clenching into a fist. “I know what’s down there now… and I regret everything that happened in order for me to find out.”

 _< Sorey…  >_ Atakk’s voice echoed in his mind, tinged with sadness.

“So please, Lailah. I know it’s asking a lot, but I need your help,” he said with all seriousness in his voice, facing her intently. “Please, let me armatise with you.”

Lailah stared back at him, seeing the conviction in his gaze. It was obvious that he had been thinking about this for a while, probably ever since he had returned to the real world. It was true that human-based AI were stronger than regular AI, so it had clicked to him that armatising with her would allow him deeper access into the ‘net.

< You really want to find this person, don’t you? > she said quietly, smiling at him with sad eyes.

“More than anything,” Sorey replied.

< We don’t even know if you’ll find what you’re looking for down there. >

“I…” he began, hesitating for a moment.

She was right, in reality he didn’t know what was down there; what he thought he knew was probably only a small part of the dark ‘net. And with how the internet was constantly changing, there was no telling what it would look like now after three years.

“I know, I know it’s reckless of me,” Sorey said quietly. “But up until yesterday, I was doubtful that there was a way to find him at all. Then decoding the message from the ‘net, and meeting you, Lailah – it made me realise that he had never given up on me. So I want to believe in him; believe that he’s still out there, and is waiting for me.”

Lailah paused, letting Sorey’s words sink in before floating over to take his hands in her own. She closed her eyes as she began to concentrate, though Sorey wasn’t sure what she was doing at first. He closed his eyes as well, tuning out everything else as he let Mikleo’s heartbeat pulse steadily in his mind, as if affirming his belief.

< It’s so slow, > Lailah murmured after a moment. She had a rueful smile as she opened her eyes again, squeezing his hands gently. < I’ll do it; I’ll armatise with you, Sorey. >

“Thank you, Lailah.”

< Let’s return to the surface level, you can safely remove Atakk’s armatus there. >

Sorey nodded as Lailah let go of his hands and he extended his arm. The command to open the portal came to him easily this time, his fingertips tingling with energy. He slipped through the portal to land in the hallway of his home, Atakk reappearing by his side when he removed the armatus. He looked behind him to see Lailah stepping from the portal into the hallway, and now that Sorey was seeing her in the surface level she looked even more beautiful.

Her hair almost touched the ground when it wasn’t floating around her, her tiara sparkling in the light. Her eyes were a lovely deep green, filled with a determination and focus that mirrored his own.

< Are you ready, Sorey? > she asked as she opened her interface.

“I am,” he said, opening his own interface. “Requesting access to program: FETHMUS_MIOMA.EXE.”

Lailah nodded and confirmed the request, her interface chiming in response.

< Authorising allowed user: Sorey. Authorising permissions. >

She rested a hand on her chest as she closed her interface, feeling very much exposed to Sorey. She trusted him completely, but it was a bizarre feeling when she had never armatised with a user before.

“I’m going to modify your source code now,” Sorey announced, to which Lailah nodded.

When he pressed the option to modify her code, Lailah disappeared as a cloud of data, just as Atakk had done when he armatised with him for the first time. Lines of code materialised into view on his interface, Sorey’s eyes skimming over them. Lailah’s coding was much more advanced compared to Atakk’s, so he was lucky for her guidance. In fact, it felt as if she was taking most of the lead, directing him around the various parts of her coding. The time it took for him to modify Lailah’s source code was longer than it had taken for Atakk, but again his mind supplied him with a single command which he voiced aloud.

“Executing file: FETHMUS_MIOMA.EXE.”

Armatising with Atakk had been comfortable, but armatising with Lailah _burned_. It felt like flames were licking at his skin, heat coursing through his limbs with every pulse that he felt from the ‘net around him. It was too hot, the heat almost dizzying for a moment. His arm shot out to steady himself against the wall, wincing in discomfort.

_< Sorey! Are you alright?  >_

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be good. Just give me a moment.”

Taking some deep breaths to ease himself, after a while the pain subsided. His body was still warm, but it was more of a comforting warmth now, like being wrapped in a tight embrace. Straightening up, he flexed his fingers, feeling the sparks of heat that traveled up his arm. Something about his senses seemed sharper, even the smallest details and sensations becoming clear in his mind.

 _< I’m sorry Sorey, I should have warned you about my armatus,  >_ Lailah’s voice in his head was apologetic, but he shook his head and smiled.

“No, it’s fine. I just didn’t expect it to be so,” he blinked, searching for the word. “ _Powerful_.”

“Lailah is a stronger AI after all, so it’s reflected in the strength of her armatus,” Atakk pointed out, pursing his lips. “You shouldn’t have a problem reaching the dark level now.”

 _< The dark level?  >_ Lailah repeated.

“It’s what we call the third level, the one below the archives,” Sorey began to explain. “When we first found it, it was almost completely pitch black. And there’s hardly any information on it, hence the name.”

_< And that’s where you lost your friend?  >_

“Yes,” Sorey murmured, nodding slowly.

 _< Are you certain you’re ready to return there?  >_ Lailah’s voice was laced with concern, being able to feel Sorey’s anxiety through the armatus.

“No, but I know it’ll be alright because you’ll be with me, Lailah,” he smiled.

 _< Sorey…  >_ she exclaimed softly, moved by his trust and belief. _< Very well, I’ll guide you into the dark ‘net.  >_

“I’m ready.”

Facing the front door, Sorey extended his arm as he would when opening the portal to the archives. He could feel the thrum of the archives behind the door, but he tried to push past it. Instead he focused his thoughts on the dark level, recalling the last time he had been down there, all pitch black and deathly quiet. He grit his teeth when he remembered the violent program that had attacked them, but it was then he felt Lailah alongside him, as if her hand was on his at the moment. Warmth seeped into his body as she guided his commands, filling in the empty lines of code for him. Just then a sharp chill ran through his body, and with a gasp he opened his eyes to see the door had opened. He hesitated at seeing the portal to the dark level open, and he could also sense Lailah’s unease.

 _< We’re only going down there to find your friend,  >_ she reminded him. _< I would like to avoid being there for longer than necessary.  >_

“Thank you, Lailah.”

“Be careful,” Atakk murmured.

“We will; please look after Mikleo while I’m gone.”

With that, he leapt into the portal and into the dark level. It was like a splash of ice water to the face, the sensation sending cold chills through his body. Now that he was part-AI, his senses towards the ‘net had been heightened and he was able to feel the sheer emptiness of being in the dark level. Unlike the archives where the constant activity had thrummed under his skin, here it was completely silent, like a paralysing numbness.

 _< We’re definitely not alone here,  >_ Lailah’s voice echoed in his mind.

“Is it…?” Sorey began, but cut himself off not wanting to get his hopes up again.

_< Let’s have a look around first and see what we can find.  >_

Sorey nodded and focused on navigating through the dark. The cold was unsettling, but he supposed it was better than being threatened with deletion. They floated past multiple data dumps and stray data fragments, but none of them matched the cloud of data Sorey had seen in the archives. Maybe Lailah was right in saying that what he was looking for wasn’t here. Just then, a pang of fear shot through him causing him to wince. He was suddenly aware of his body shaking and the frantic rhythm of his heartbeat.

 _< Oh no, he’s coming,  >_ Lailah said anxiously.

Sorey didn’t have time to ask her who she was referring to before a chime from his navigational map alerted him to a new icon that had appeared. It was coming up behind him fast, and by the powerful roar that accompanied it he knew what it was.

“Maotelus,” he murmured under his breath. He needed to move, knowing that there was nothing he could do against the dragon. Fear rooted him to the spot, and he frantically twisted his head to his left out of panic. But the space was empty just as it had been for the last three years, and his heart sank remembering that he was alone.

_< Sorey!  >_

Maotelus swiped at him, sending him crashing into a data dump. Sorey groaned, shaking his head to clear his vision. He barely had time to react before it roared again and charged at him with outstretched wings. Sorey narrowly rolled out of the way and shook off the numbness, gliding away from Maotelus.

 _< We need to leave, we can’t do anything against him as we are now!  >_ Lailah screamed.

“No, not yet!” Sorey shouted back.

He tried to focus on Mikleo, imagining the appearance of his avatar as he had last seen him. He called up other memories of their time within the ‘net, letting them come to the forefront of his mind. If he was somewhere in the ‘net, he thought the armatus might be able to search him out. But nothing happened, Sorey’s attention slowly focusing back on the present and the current situation they were in. There was no way they could search the whole of the dark level, not with Maotelus on their trail. Speeding past a cluster of data fragments, he froze for a moment when he felt something tugging at him, like an invisible force pulling him in.

 _< Sorey, what is it?  >_ Lailah asked urgently.

“I-I’m not sure,” he replied, allowing the invisible force to draw him in.

His eyes darted between the navigational map and his surroundings, half-expecting Maotelus to come charging at them again. But this particular cluster of data fragments he found himself in seemed to act as a cover of sorts, hiding him away from view. In fact, the cluster seemed vaguely like the one he and Mikleo had used as cover once before. Peering behind one of the data fragments, Sorey found a small cloud of data bobbing there. It glowed with a pale white colour, no longer shimmering as when he had first come across it.

 _< Is this it?  >_ Lailah asked curiously.

“Yes,” he breathed, crouching down low. “So you were here after all.”

He extended his hand towards the cloud of data, and to his relief it didn’t shy away from him. It bobbed a little closer to Sorey, as if eyeing his hand with caution. But it tentatively eased into his palm, nuzzling against his hand.

 _< I sense it’s a program of some sort,  >_ Lailah said. _< But its data is scrambled, hence its current form.  >_

“Well it shouldn’t stay here, it’s too dangerous with Maotelus around.”

_< I would suggest taking it back with us to the archives, but unless we store it properly it will just end up in the dark level again.  >_

Sorey pulled his hand away, settling it on his chin. The cloud of data circled around his legs as he remained deep in thought. An idea came to mind as he waved his hand, a line of code appearing and fading. A folder dropped into his hands, which he held out towards the cloud of data.

“The archives can support folders, so as long as it stays inside it should be okay, right?”

The cloud of data eyed the folder, but settled for circling Sorey’s legs again. It seemed to be a little stubborn to the idea of being contained inside a folder. Sorey sighed as he pet it again, chuckling lightly. At that moment, a cold chill caused his hairs to stand on end, Lailah gasping in his mind.

_< Sorey.  >_

“Let’s move,” he muttered, putting away the folder and scooping the data cloud into his arms.

It squirmed against his hold, Sorey frantically checking his surroundings and his navigational map. He could see Maotelus’ icon skirting the edges of his map, as if circling them. He just needed to place some distance between them, enough for Lailah to concentrate on bringing them back to the archives. Suddenly the cloud of data broke free of his grip, flitting off somewhere in a panic. Sorey wasted no time in chasing after it, even as he heard a powerful roar echoing around him.

 _< Slow him down!  >_ Lailah shouted.

Sorey nodded, feeling something well up within him. It began as a tingling warmth in his fingertips, small pinpricks tickling his skin. Heat coursed through his arm, and he flexed his fingers as the energy flowed through him, threatening to spill out. Turning to face Maotelus, he stretched out his arm and watched as red laser beams rained down from the sky stunning the dragon. It growled, buckling under the assault. Holding out both of his hands, he concentrated hard and felt another rush of warmth at his fingertips. This time the lasers warped to form a spherical barrier, trapping Maotelus inside. It thrashed against the barrier, Sorey wincing with each strike. But he grit his teeth and held his ground, not allowing it to waver. He felt something pressing close to his back and glanced behind him to see the cloud of data nuzzling against him.

“I won’t force you to come with us,” he said to it. “But if you know where Mikleo is, please tell me.”

_< Mikleo…  >_

Maotelus growled, its tail smacking against Sorey’s barrier. He felt its anger and rage in each blow, but he thought he sensed something else alongside those feelings. It felt like despair and loneliness, much to his confusion.

“Maotelus, are you…?”

_< Sorey!  >_

The ball of data had buried itself inside the pocket of Sorey’s jacket, nuzzling into his side. It squirmed and pulled at his jacket, almost as if telling him to move. He placed a shaking hand on his pocket, feeling the slight flutter under his fingers. The cloud of data seemed to settle under his touch, and Sorey noticed his hand had stopped shaking as well. Before he could ask her, he already felt Lailah guiding his way around the code to re-open the portal. Maotelus slammed against his barrier, Sorey grunting under the strain.

 _< We’re ready,  >_ Lailah cut in, her voice strangely sorrowful. _< Leave him, Sorey.  >_

Sucking in a breath, Sorey let his hands drop and the lasers dissipated, the barrier collapsing. Maotelus growled and opened its wings, but Sorey had already summoned a portal to lead them out of the dark ‘net. He took one last look into the dark level, Maotelus’ cries ringing in his ears as the portal closed on it.

_< I’m sorry, Mao.  >_

* * *

In the archives, the cloud of data was excitedly weaving itself between Sorey’s legs. It occasionally came to nuzzle against his side, tickling him with the movement. Atakk was positioned over Sorey’s shoulder, peering at the cloud of data from his perch.

< Well, Lailah? > Atakk asked. < What do you think it is? >

 _< I… I think it could be an AI,  >_ Lailah said. _< But without its proper code, I can’t be too sure.  >_

“How long do you think it will take for it to sort itself out?”

_< I don’t know, Sorey. The most we can do for now is help it to unscramble its data.  >_

The data cloud was still trying to nose at Sorey’s side when he gently brushed it away, suppressing a laugh. His hand curled around the cloud of data to nuzzle it, watching it lean into his touch. Just then a faint red light shone from his fingertips, causing it to shudder, as if whatever Sorey had done had tickled.

“What was that?”

 _< You managed to use some of my support processes in the dark level just now,  >_ Lailah murmured in his mind. _< This is just another one of them. With my antivirus, it should help speed up the process a little. But the rest will be up to it.  >_

Sorey watched it shudder again, beginning to squirm as it nestled into the crook of Sorey’s arm. He could see its form was starting to shimmer, and he frowned.

< As expected, it can’t stay here without something to anchor it to the archives, > Atakk murmured from Sorey’s shoulder.

Nodding, Sorey waved his hand and a folder materialised just as before. He opened the folder for the cloud of data, sighing with relief when it floated inside without hesitation. Holding it close to his chest, he could feel it fluttering under his touch, the folder wriggling with the data’s restlessness.

 _< Atakk and I can look after it while you’re not in the ‘net, Sorey,  >_ Lailah reassured him gently.

< You can count on us! > Atakk chimed in smugly.

“Thanks,” Sorey murmured, patting the folder gently. It squirmed in response, earning a laugh from Lailah and Atakk.

From inside the folder, the cloud of data made a small chiming noise, almost like the equivalent of a laugh. At this, Sorey couldn’t help but join in with the laughter. There was still a lot he didn’t know about Maotelus or what was lurking in the dark ‘net, but with the assistance of Atakk and now Lailah, he felt a little closer to finding Mikleo.


	5. Luzrov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But if Mikleo is an AI, then that means he’s out there!” Sorey cried. “How else could he have sent that message to me? It’s why we went searching for the data cloud, because we knew it would—”
> 
> < Sorey, > Lailah cut him off again, more sternly this time. < We don’t know whether he became an AI or not. >
> 
> “I refuse to believe he’s gone forever!”
> 
> < And if he has become an AI, what will you do? >
> 
> Sorey paused then, lost for a response. She turned to face Sorey properly, but her eyes didn’t quite meet his gaze. When he failed to answer her question, she continued.
> 
> < It is as you said, Sorey; to become an AI is to leave everything you knew behind, > Lailah said coolly. < Even if you manage to find Mikleo, will he still be the same person you knew? >

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the belated update, I got stuck when it came to writing the offline scene again. But I hope it's to your liking!
> 
> You might have noticed that Deep Dive AU now has its own series here on AO3! I have a lot of side stories in mind that I would like to write, but they wouldn't fit into the main timeline. So once they're posted, they'll become part of the series to keep everything together. I hope you're looking forward to them! For now, here's Chapter 5.
> 
> Thanks as always for all the lovely comments!

After the events of the previous week, things at Elysia had notably slowed down. Sorey returned to his usual tasks around the company, training alongside Muse while also looking after his own client on the side. No one questioned his newfound interest in diving again, and in fact welcomed the change in pace. It reminded them of the days before Mikleo’s accident, and even noticed that Sorey’s mood had lifted greatly. 

Lailah remained his secret, only visiting her after-hours when most of the Elysians had gone home. He had never seen another user in the archives while diving with Mikleo, so he wasn’t worried about others finding her. He figured that Lailah was probably used to hiding from users, which made him wonder why she had been so open to introducing herself to him but he was thankful that she had done so.

Now, Sorey was watching Lailah engage in an intense game of hide-and-seek with the cloud of data from the dark ‘net. Although when he thought about it, it was more like a game of tag. The cloud of data didn’t enjoy being confined so it was eager to be free, whether to explore or so Lailah could check up on it. Yet its code hadn’t stabilised enough for it to remain in the archives on its own, so it still needed the folder to anchor itself. Initially it cooperated, but after a while it had decided to make a game of it. If Lailah didn’t catch it first, the only times it relented and returned to the folder was when it was close to being consumed by the dark ‘net, or if Sorey was there.

“I think that’s enough for today,” he said to the data cloud as it flitted towards him, immediately aiming for his side. Sorey had grown used to its constant ‘tickle’ attacks and was quick to defend himself, eyeing it carefully.

< Here, Sorey, > Lailah said as she caught up to them, holding the folder out towards him.

Taking it from her, he opened the folder and motioned to the data cloud. It appeared to divide its attention between Sorey and the folder, a small chime sounding from it. Without a voice of its own, they had quickly picked up that the data cloud made that particular noise when it was happy. Or in this case, it was feeling mischievous. Sorey’s side was left unguarded as he held the folder open, so the cloud of data took the chance to burrow against his side with extra force. Sorey yelped, shooting it a glare as it chimed happily before jumping inside the folder.

< My, the two of you have taken quite a liking to each other, > Lailah giggled, and in his mind Sorey could hear Atakk laughing as well.

“Well, I was the one who brought it out of the dark ‘net, so maybe that’s it,” he shrugged, handing the folder back to Lailah. “Any progress today?”

< The fact that it can remain outside of the folder for longer periods of time means that the antivirus is working, but it will still take some time, > Lailah explained, one hand atop the folder.

Sorey nodded, sighing quietly. He knew the unscrambling process wasn’t something to be rushed, but he couldn’t help wishing for something to happen. He wondered if it would remain a small cloud of data forever. It would be much easier to communicate with it if it had its own voice, and at least that way he would be able to ask it about its origin.

< Has there been any change with Mikleo? > Lailah asked.

Sorey shook his head, dropping his gaze. Part of him hoped that something would have changed. But Mikleo was still unconscious, even now the steady pounding in his mind sounding like a metronome, loud to his own ears.

< We’ll keep searching, Sorey. Don’t give up, I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to either, > she reassured him. < What’s your schedule like tomorrow? >

“I’m meeting a client in the morning, but aside from that I don’t have anything else planned.”

< Ooh, how exciting! I hope it goes well for you! > she chirped.

Sorey chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his neck. After learning that Sorey was the future heir of Elysia, Lailah had suddenly become very interested in his work. He found her enthusiasm rather amusing, but having been alone in the ‘net for as long as she had, he didn’t blame her for being excited over something so trivial. At least, Sorey thought, she had the cloud of data to keep her busy now. Atakk called it ‘babysitting’, but she didn’t seem to mind watching over the program at all.

< What kind of client is it? >

“A scientist from Ladylake,” he began to explain.

< Ladylake? You mean where the Shepherd’s legend originated? >

“Sort of, Ladylake was the former name of the capital of Hyland,” he continued. “So when the company was established, the founder must have named it after the capital’s old name.”

< I wonder if the founder had also been familiar with the Shepherd’s legend, > Lailah mused to herself. < What sort of company is Ladylake? >

“They’re mostly involved in hardware; technology to help people stay connected to the ‘net in the real world, stuff like that…”

Lailah noticed Sorey’s voice trailing off, his mood dropping suddenly. She bowed her head, petting the folder gently. It chimed under her touch, wriggling with the action.

< Does that frighten you? >

“How could it not?” Sorey replied quietly. “We know just how dangerous the ‘net can be. Is it wrong of me to want to keep the real and online worlds separate?”

< Not at all, > she smiled at him. < I think it’s important for people to remember that there is more to life than just what is on the ‘net. >

Sorey lifted his head, nodding at her. He remembered that were it not for Mikleo, he might have been one of those people. Still, as his gaze fell on Lailah there was something else on his mind that he had been wanting to address.

“Lailah, can I ask you something?”

< Of course, Sorey. What is it? >

“You wouldn’t tell me how you became an AI… is there any chance you could tell me _why_ you became an AI then?”

Her hand stopped stroking the folder, her breath hitching. She looked down at her lap, her grip tensing ever so slightly. 

< May I ask what led you to this question? >

“I guess, I’m just trying to understand why anyone would want to become an AI,” Sorey answered her. “Isn’t it lonely, leaving behind everything you knew to become an AI? What about all the friends and family you left behind? I just don’t understand.”

Lailah closed her eyes, resuming her petting of the folder. Her hand produced a faint red light as she began drawing small circles with her thumb, concentrating on cleaning the loose ends of code within the data cloud’s coding.

< Is that to say you wouldn’t consider becoming an AI? >

“Of course not,” he quickly shook his head and frowned. He didn’t even want to think about the implications of what Lailah was asking him. If anything, his experience with the ‘net was exactly why he didn’t want to become trapped by it.

< I see. Well, sometimes the answer isn’t quite as simple as that, Sorey, > Lailah told him, her voice quiet. < Sometimes it’s not a choice. >

The red glow faded from her hands as she released the folder from her grasp. The data cloud chirped from within the folder before it floated over into Sorey’s lap, nestling there instead. It felt warm, but whether from Lailah’s antivirus just now or the data cloud processing its own data he wasn’t sure.

< You’ve heard of people who were lost to the ‘net, correct? >

Sorey looked up to see Lailah addressing him, something different in her face that hadn’t been there before. Her gentle smile was gone, her lips set in a thin line. It was his first time seeing her like this, a strange pull in the intensity of her gaze.

“People became reckless, trying to dive into the depths of the ‘net to see just how deep it ran,” he said, recalling the reports that were published at the time. “But in the end, their minds were consumed by the ‘net, never to return.”

Lailah nodded, turning so that her back was facing him. One of her hands was holding onto her other arm tightly, fingers pressing into her skin. She fiddled with the hem of her jacket, the material appearing to bunch under her grip.

< However, that is not the full story, > she said, eyeing Sorey from the corner of her eye. < In some cases, a person’s consciousness may awaken as an AI. >

Sorey’s eyes widened, Atakk similarly gasping in his mind. The data cloud chirped urgently, squirming as Sorey gripped the folder tightly in his arms with almost crushing force.

“Are you saying that—”

< But even then, there is no guarantee that they will be able to retain themselves, > she added in quickly, cutting off whatever Sorey was about to say next.

“But if Mikleo is an AI, then that means he’s out there!” Sorey cried. “How else could he have sent that message to me? It’s why we went searching for the data cloud, because we knew it would—”

< Sorey, > Lailah cut him off again, more sternly this time. < We don’t know whether he became an AI or not. >

“I refuse to believe he’s gone forever!”

< If he has become an AI, what will you do? >

“I’ll bring him home, just like I promised.”

< And how do you plan on doing that? >

Sorey paused then, his grip on the folder slacking. The data cloud squirmed free from his grasp and nestled itself into Lailah’s embrace with a tinkling noise. She turned to face Sorey properly, but her eyes didn’t quite meet his gaze. When he failed to answer her question, she continued.

< It is as you said, Sorey; to become an AI is to leave everything you knew behind, > Lailah said coolly. < Even if you manage to find Mikleo, will he still be the same person you knew? >

Sorey’s head began to spin, his breaths becoming shallow. If Mikleo had become an AI, there was the possibility of him becoming unrecognisable to Sorey because of his time in the ‘net. But if he hadn’t managed to retain himself, then he might as well be lost to the ‘net forever.

His head was starting to feel faint. Mikleo’s heartbeat pounded loudly in his ears, Atakk’s voice distant in the fog of his mind. If he wasn’t in the archives at the moment, he was sure his legs would have given out beneath him.

“I-I… I need to go,” Sorey mumbled, tearing himself away from Lailah.

She said nothing as he left, and he didn’t dare lock eyes with her for fear of what he would see in them. The echo of a lonely, high-pitched tone, almost like a croon resounded in his ears as he left the archives.

* * *

Sorey leaned against Mikleo’s pod, pressing his forehead to the cold glass. His eyes were scrunched tight as he willed his racing mind to focus on nothing but the rhythmic beeping of the pod’s screen. Right now, Sorey just needed to know that Mikleo was still alive. He exhaled heavily, pressing his forehead further into the glass. Slowly, his breaths evened out, syncing with Mikleo’s heartbeat.

“You’re okay,” Sorey murmured, both to himself and to the person asleep in the pod. “You’re alive, aren’t you Mikleo?”

Of course he received no response, but when he opened his eyes he saw the steady rise and fall of Mikleo’s chest. He allowed himself to smile, breathing a shaky sigh of relief. His thumb traced small circles on the pod’s surface as he watched the sleeping figure.

Over the years spent with his mother studying Mikleo’s condition, never once had he heard of anyone coming out of a coma like his. And the more he read up on past cases, the more casualties he encountered until the number became an increasing figure that continued to rise. At that point he stepped away, not wanting to confront the possibility that Mikleo would be the next victim on the list.

But the talk with Lailah had reminded him of those fears. Even now, the anxiety lingered at the edges of his heart. Sorey pressed his forehead against the glass, watching his shaky breaths leave foggy imprints on the pod’s surface. A choked sob racked his frame as he squeezed his eyes shut again.

“You’re alive, you _have_ to be,” he whispered hoarsely. “So please, prove her wrong; _please_ don’t be gone.”

More apologies and pleas left his lips, and by the time he had gotten them out, exhaustion had finally caught up to him. His eyes fought to stay open as he leaned against the pod, fingertips brushing against the glass.

“Mikleo, just hold on a little longer,” Sorey mumbled, his voice laced with sleep. “I promise… I’ll bring you back.”

* * *

The sound of rushing water filled Sorey’s ears as he neared a lone white building outside the city’s main gate. It was an impractical location when one took into account its distance from the city centre, but then normal people had seldom reason to visit here. In front of the building was a fountain, the source of the water that Sorey had heard earlier. He could make out a lady in a flowing dress atop the fountain, the statue depicting her with arms outstretched to either side of her. Considering the history of Ladylake, he knew who the figure was immediately.

Suddenly, what Lailah had said about the founder being familiar with the Shepherd’s legend didn’t seem too far from the truth. As he approached the fountain, he found himself drawn in by the intricacy with which it had been crafted. The walls of the fountain were decorated with raised motifs, some resembling spears while others looked like a knight’s crest. Peering more closely at the face of the Lady of the Lake, with how she had been designed it was almost as though the water streaming from her hands was the source of her powers of purification.

“Young Sorey,” a warm voice said from near the fountain. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Startled, Sorey jumped and quickly tore his gaze away from the statue. Before him stood a man with dark blue hair and similarly coloured eyes, framed by a pair of glasses. There was a cool air to the way he held himself, everything about his image professional in appearance.

“Are you Uno?” Sorey asked.

“I am,” the man replied, extending his hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in-person.”

“The pleasure is mine, sir,” Sorey said, taking the hand that was being offered to him.

“Just Uno is fine,” he smiled, easing Sorey’s nervousness. “Thank you for coming all this way to meet me.”

“Not at all, thank you for inviting me.”

Uno chuckled lightly and lifted his eyes up to the fountain statue, Sorey following his gaze to rest on the maiden’s face again.

“You seemed very enamoured by her when you first arrived,” he murmured, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Tell me, are you familiar with the Shepherd’s legend?”

“I am,” Sorey nodded. “I grew up listening to the stories, reading all I could about the Shepherd and his journey.”

“Hm, just like somebody else I know. The two of you would get along well,” Uno chuckled once again, ushering for Sorey to follow him.

Ladylake’s head research lab was unlike anything Sorey had seen before. Having grown up in Elysia, he was starting to realise just how small they were in comparison. He found himself lost for words upon stepping inside, taking in the sight of the reception area. Banners of deep blue hung from the high ceilings, each emblazoned in gold with the logo of Ladylake. Through the glass windows on the upper floor, he could see multiple interfaces and holographic displays with people dashing between them. Things at Elysia were much quieter, Sorey mused to himself as he turned his attention back towards Uno.

“Before we move onto business matters, I thought that you might like to take a quick look around the research labs,” Uno said. “You said that you hadn’t been here before, am I correct?”

“Yes, this is my first time,” Sorey admittedly sheepishly, scratching his cheek.

“Well that won’t do at all, not if we are to be working together in the future,” Uno said, motioning again for Sorey to follow.

The two of them came to a heavy sliding door, completely solid with no windows to indicate what was on the other side. Uno pulled up the sleeve of his coat, revealing a black bracelet on his wrist similar to the one Sorey had seen Rose wearing at the networking event. Pressing it to a panel to the left of the door, the bracelet beeped once and the door slid open. Through it was a short hallway with another heavy door at the end. Again, Uno used his bracelet to open the door but this time it slid open to reveal a long corridor of glass windows. On one side Sorey saw a room filled with multiple dive units, probably more than double the number they had at Elysia. He noted that there were no dual-unit models in sight before his eyes shifted to the other side of the corridor. People in white coats were hunched over long benches, foreign instruments scattered around them as they fiddled with pairs of glasses in their hands.

“As you might have heard, the latest version of our visual aid is currently in development. But that hasn’t stopped current demand,” Uno explained, pushing up his own glasses. Sorey gave a small nod of his head as the two pressed on.

Slipping through the next door, there were no glass windows here. Only a series of doors each with a single window in it. It seemed that not all of the rooms were in use at the moment, and activity here was much quieter in comparison. Sorey passed by one of the windows, stealing a glance. There was someone inside, not an employee of Ladylake judging by the lack of a white lab coat. When they turned towards Sorey at the window, he caught one of their eyes focusing on him in an eerie manner. Something about it unnerved him, the way it held his gaze for far too long without blinking.

“Biomedical implants,” a female voice said from behind him, causing him to jump and break eye contact with the person inside.

He turned to see a woman with honey-brown hair, a floral hairpin adorning her ponytail. He knew her face from the news article that he had shown to Zenrus. Like Uno, she also carried an air of professionalism about her. There was grace in each of her steps, almost as if she were a princess and not the scientist she appeared to be. She passed by him to stand next to Uno, sharing a small smile with him.

“Sorey, allow me to introduce my colleague, Dr. Alisha Diphda,” Uno said, motioning to the woman. “Dr. Diphda, this is Sorey from Elysia Corporation. He’s here at my request so that we may discuss business matters.”

Alisha stepped forward, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she smiled. Her eyes sparkled from behind her glasses – a pair identical to the ones that Uno wore. Seeing this, Sorey’s own interface began to feel hot against his skin. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, extending her hand.

“Likewise,” he gave her a small nod, shaking her hand.

“Dr. Diphda here is Ladylake’s leading biomedical scientist,” Uno explained.

“Then, those implants are…?” Sorey began, dropping his hand.

“Yes, the product of my research,” she said in a formal manner, but he could hear the excitement in her voice. “Stronger than flesh and blood, and yet perform as if it were the real thing. Of course, it’s still in its early stages so the design needs some work. But just think, in the future people won’t even realise that one has implants!”

Sorey pursed his lips, squinting his eyes at Alisha. She blinked at him, light green eyes meeting his bold green ones. Convinced that she didn’t have implants, he simply nodded and dropped his gaze. He had known that Ladylake was involved in researching biotechnology, but he hadn’t expected implants of this scale and power. What was more, with how revolutionary their visual aid had been he sensed that not everyone was coming because of their need for the technology. As long as they had the money for it, he was sure that some of their clients were getting implants out of choice. And although they were only rolling out eye implants for now, there was nothing to say that they wouldn’t continue researching implants for other body parts. The thought alone made him tense up.

Sorey was about to voice his opinion on the matter, but then he remembered that he was representing Elysia in this business meeting. What he did or said here would reflect not only on him and Zenrus, but the company as a whole. It was one of the first things he had been taught by Zenrus in preparation to take over Elysia. He learnt not to let his personal feelings come between him and a client, something he reminded himself of now. Besides, even if he didn’t agree with what Ladylake was doing, he had to admit that Alisha’s research was quite groundbreaking.

“I think I’ve seen enough, Uno,” Sorey said firmly after a brief pause, trying to maintain a professional tone without coming across as rude.

“Oh, of course! I’m sorry for keeping the both of you,” Alisha quickly apologised.

“Not at all, perhaps we can discuss your research at another time, Dr. Diphda,” he smiled.

“I would be more than happy to, Sorey.”

“If you’ll excuse us then,” Uno nodded at her, ushering Sorey past the remaining rooms in the corridor.

He could feel his tension easing once they left the research labs, letting out a sigh of relief. Uno looked at him and smiled, commenting on how young he was and yet already representing Elysia. Sorey didn’t correct him; he would rather Uno think that his anxiety was due to nervousness about the deal and not because he was uncomfortable being surrounded by their technology. The quicker that this business meeting was over, the sooner he would get to leave Ladylake.

* * *

It was a couple more days before Sorey found the courage to visit Lailah again. Now that he had had time to think about their exchange, he realised that he had assumed too much about her. He noticed how she had become more quiet, the way her eyes didn’t want to meet his. His question had struck a chord in her, and that must have been what prompted her response. When Lailah saw him coming, her smile faded and she began to withdraw. Sorey immediately stopped, keeping his distance from her.

“Lailah, please listen to me,” he murmured. “About what I said last time, I’m sorry. I said those things without knowing anything about you or how you became an AI. I accused you of abandoning everything you knew for the ‘net but… I didn’t even stop to think that maybe it wasn’t your choice to. So for that, I’m sorry for what I said.”

He kept his head bowed down low, only looking up when he felt Lailah taking his hands into hers. She smiled warmly at him, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

< You’re too kind Sorey, > she mused. < With you, I almost feel human again. >

Sorey was about to interject and ask what she meant by that when she pursed her lips, keeping her gaze locked on him.

< I’m sorry too about the harsh things I said. I didn’t mean to make you doubt yourself. I just wanted to be sure that you were aware of the truth. >

Sorey smile faded, the anxiety settling in his heart again. He was sure that she could feel the slight trembling of his hands in her grasp.

“No, I think I needed to hear it,” he finally said, shaking his head. “Thank you for being honest with me, Lailah.” 

She let out a small gasp, one hand flying to cover her mouth. But she soon regained her composure, releasing Sorey’s hands and clasping her own hands to her chest.

< About your question, Sorey… just understand this, > she said quietly. < The answer you seek, it’s not one that I can give to you. My hope is that with time, you might be able to find your own answer. >

“My own answer…” he repeated.

< Yes, and I pray that the answer you find is one that will be without regrets. >

Sorey nodded slowly, placing a hand on his chin. There was obviously something else that he was missing about humans and AI, something that Lailah wasn’t telling him – or didn’t want to tell him about. Looking at her now, her eyes were still missing their usual bright glow. There was a distant loneliness in her eyes that could only be described as longing. But for what or for who, he couldn’t place.

Tilting his head, Sorey suddenly realised that the data cloud wasn’t with them. His eyes scanned left and right, but he couldn’t see any sign of it. Even Lailah, who usually had the folder nearby was empty-handed at the moment. He remembered that she had said it could remain outside for longer periods of time, but it was the first time he had seen her without the folder on hand.

“Lailah, where’s the data cloud?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.

< Ah, about that, > she began, but in that moment a white blur had thrown itself towards Sorey.

He yelped and fell backwards, his arms flailing at his chest as he attempted to grab whatever it was that had hurtled into him. When it had finally stopped moving, Sorey sat up properly and looked down at his legs. A small creature with a lithe body and a pointed nose was sitting atop his knee. It peered up at him with beady eyes, its long tail brushing against his leg. Most of its fur was white aside from its underbelly and the tips of its ears and tail, which faded into a pale blue colour.

Sorey raised a finger to it, scratching it under the chin. It relaxed into his touch, making a soft chiming noise in response. That caught Sorey’s attention, and his eyes flickered between Lailah and the creature.

“Wait, is this the data cloud from the ‘net?” he asked Lailah quickly.

< It is, > Lailah giggled softly. < It was like that when I went to check on it today. It’s been restless all day, waiting for you. >

_< Its form seems more stable now, so there’s probably no need for the folder anymore,  >_ Atakk pointed out.

“That’s great!” Sorey exclaimed, patting the creature. “So what are you, a skunk or something?”

The creature immediately pulled its head out from under Sorey’s hand and bit his finger, causing him to pull his hand back. It was only a small nibble, but Sorey still yelped in surprise and glared at it.

“What was that for?” he demanded.

A window opened in his vision, showing an image search of a skunk from the ‘net. The creature’s tail brushed against Sorey’s leg, and another window opened next to it. It was another image search, but this one was for a ferret. The creature made a noise, this one a bit more like an error noise. It was the first time Sorey had heard it making that sound, and he figured it was upset at him for calling it a skunk.

“Okay, not a skunk,” he corrected himself, scratching the back of his head. “Sorry.”

< How interesting, > Lailah noted, a hand on her chin. She had caught the whole exchange and was now deep in thought. < So it can utilise the ‘net as a means of communication even in this form. It’s definitely no ordinary program. >

Taking in Lailah’s words, a thought came to Sorey in that moment. Waving his hand in front of the ferret, a string of code faded into the air. The ferret’s nose twitched as Sorey opened his interface to check on its source code. Again, most of it came back unreadable, which he attributed to the program’s incomplete coding. But at least he had its file name now.

“LUZROV_RULAY.EXE – is that you?” he asked the program, to which it chimed happily. It jumped up onto Sorey’s arm, climbing up his shoulder until it had draped itself around his neck. Sorey flinched as the soft furs tickled against his skin, stifling a laugh but he soon relaxed and scratched the ferret under its chin again.

“It’s nice to meet you, I’m Sorey,” he said. “Your file name is kinda hard to say, so do you mind if I call you ‘Luzrov’ for short?”

The ferret perked up its ears, nuzzling against his cheek. Judging by the happy chime Sorey received in response, it didn’t seem to mind at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /lies down
> 
> I'm only a quarter of the way through this fic...


	6. Mikleo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorey turned with a wide grin on his face ready to greet Luzrov, but his breath caught when he saw a small child standing in front of him. They appeared to be only a year or two older than Atakk’s human avatar, peering up at Sorey with bright violet eyes. In the centre of their forehead was a golden circlet, visible just underneath their pale hair.
> 
> To any other person, they would have appeared to be a regular child. But Sorey knew this child was so much more than that. In fact, they were somebody he was all too familiar with.
> 
> As the child skipped forward to meet Sorey, he gathered his thoughts enough to jerk back, his breaths heaving. The child attempted to approach Sorey again, but he fiercely shook his head and stepped back once more.
> 
> “Y-You’re not… you’re not Mikleo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come back to the main story of Deep Dive AU... please have this extra-long chapter as my apology.
> 
> It's been quite the adventure, writing for a multi-chapter story while starting a new full-time job!  
> Thankfully I've settled in now, so the updates should be more consistent from now on.
> 
> This is one of my favourite chapters so far! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. ♡

“Sorey.”

Luzrov’s ears flickered at the sound of Sorey’s name, raising its head. It blinked at him, nose twitching as it looked at him expectantly. Sorey had Luzrov curled up in his lap, searching for any sign of recognition from it. He held his breath as he waited for Luzrov to respond, but it soon lowered its head and resettled itself in his lap, closing its eyes and breathing softly.

“So-rey~, that’s me remember?”

Luzrov’s ears twitched again, looking up at Sorey blankly. It held his gaze for a moment, long enough for Sorey to know that Luzrov had heard him and wasn’t simply ignoring him. Finally, it let out a low chime like a hum.

“So… rey…” Sorey repeated a little more slowly.

Luzrov gave a flick of its tail, the furs brushing against Sorey’s chest. But tentatively it chimed, a series of two notes that Sorey hadn’t heard before.

“That’s right, So-rey~.”

Luzrov quietly made the same sound, causing Sorey to laugh and scoop the ferret into his arms.

“Sorey!”

Luzrov scrambled to find purchase in Sorey’s arms, surprised by the human’s sudden movement before settling around his neck, chiming in with the same sound again with more confidence.

“Atakk! Lailah! I think Luzrov just said my name!”

Lailah floated over to where Sorey was, Atakk watching the pair from atop her shoulder. He peered down at Luzrov who blinked back at him, purring with a soft chime.

< Oh my! > Lailah giggled. < Is that right, Luzrov? >

“Go on! Say my name!” Sorey urged, scratching the ferret behind its ears. Luzrov stared at him wordlessly, humming softly but it wasn’t the tone for Sorey’s name.

“C’mon, you just said it earlier!” Sorey exclaimed. “Sorey, remember?”

It blinked at the human, nipping at his fingers lightly before making itself comfortable on his shoulder. Sorey sighed and shook his head, turning his attention back to Lailah and Atakk.

“I swear it said my name earlier. I mean, it was only a sound but it really sounded like it was responding to my name,” he frowned.

< It looks to me like Luzrov is feigning ignorance with you, Sorey, > Atakk pointed out, staring at the ferret.

< I think he’s right, Sorey, > Lailah smiled, clapping her hands together. < Quite the mischievous one, aren’t you Luzrov? >

True to Atakk’s words, Luzrov’s ferret form was more stable compared to the cloud of data, so it had no trouble remaining at the archive level. But according to Lailah, most of its data was still scrambled, leading her to believe that the ferret was far from its complete form. In the meantime, Luzrov had quickly proven itself to have quite the personality, being particularly interested in Sorey and teasing him when it had the opportunity. Sorey took it all in stride, entertaining the AI and enjoying the added freedom that Luzrov had in its new form.

“We’ll work on the talking thing later,” Sorey told Luzrov, fondling it under its chin. “I’m afraid I have to resurface soon.”

Luzrov immediately protested, crooning sadly and nuzzling further into Sorey’s hand. It was always the hardest part at the end of the day, having to say goodbye. Sorey never failed to return and was met enthusiastically by Luzrov when he did, but the AI would probably spend all of its time with him if it could. Sorey nuzzled it with more pets and scratches, but he saw the way Luzrov huffed, its ears drooping sadly as it slumped around his shoulders.

“Be good for Lailah in the ‘net, okay?” he murmured to Luzrov who had begun to sulk. “I can’t bring you to the real world, I’m sorry. Believe me, if there was a way I would have done it already.”

Luzrov chimed quietly, part of it happy knowing that just as it wanted to stay with Sorey, he also wanted the AI to be close to him as well.

< If you’re resurfacing, I should probably rejoin the other Normin in helping with Elysia’s shutdown preparations, > Atakk said, pushing off Lailah’s shoulder.

Sorey nodded, watching Atakk as the AI began saying goodbye to Lailah. He crossed his arms across his chest, deep in thought as Luzrov purred softly from around Sorey’s neck. It was as he had said, there was no way for the AI to exist in the real world. The next best thing would be to have them in close proximity even while he was offline, similar to how he was always able to communicate with Atakk via his earpiece. That thought gave him an idea, and he quickly shouted for Atakk before he left the archives.

“Atakk!” he exclaimed. “Do you think… would it be possible to host Lailah and Luzrov on Elysia’s server?”

< Sorey? > Atakk looked at him with wide eyes. < What are you saying? >

“Think about it! We’ll be able to communicate faster if you’re all part of the same network!”

< Oh no, we couldn’t impose on you like that, > Lailah shook her head. < Luzrov and I will be fine here on our own. >

Even as she said that though, Luzrov already looked more alert, chirping at Sorey as it pawed against his shoulder. Lifting the ferret from around his neck, it quickly began to weave around his stomach and between his legs, squeaking happily.

Sorey laughed and looked over at Atakk, but the AI had a serious look on his face. He wasn’t saying anything, but seeing the tight press in his mouth and the gaze he was giving Sorey, he knew he had his concerns about Sorey’s idea. Sorey gulped hard, waiting for him but he simply turned his back and went about typing something on his interface. He let out a small sigh, turning his attention back to the other two AI.

Luzrov sidled up to Lailah’s shoulder, perching there and gently nosing at her cheek. She reached up to scratch it behind the ears, earning a soft chime from Luzrov. It appeared that it didn’t want to join Elysia’s server without Lailah, crooning sadly when she remained set on staying in the archives.

“Please, Lailah. If you’re worried about being found, I’ll set up additional firewalls so that no one aside from myself and the Normin will know you two are there,” Sorey reassured her.

Lailah pondered his words for a moment, glancing between Luzrov and Sorey. Sorey held his breath, but was prepared to relent if Lailah honestly wasn’t comfortable with joining the network. The last time he had tried to confront her, it hadn’t gone well for either of them. Luzrov would be disappointed at not being able to join the network, but Sorey knew that the AI wouldn’t want to leave Lailah on her own either.

< Before I decide, may I ask one thing, Sorey? > Lailah asked. Sorey released the breath he had been holding, floating a little closer to her. 

“O-Of course, what is it Lailah?”

< If possible, I would still like to visit the archives at will, > she explained. < So if I agree, I would ask that you allow special permissions so that I may travel between the archives and Elysia’s server. >

Sorey blinked at her, confused by her request for a moment. But he figured that Lailah would be more comfortable not being confined to the network. In many ways, she probably thought of the archives as ‘home’ because of how long she had been an AI for.

“So if I set up those permissions, you’ll join the network?” he said as his eyes lit up, Luzrov’s ears also flicking up when it heard the news.

< Yes, yes I will, > she giggled, earning a laugh from Sorey.

“That won’t be a problem! Thank you, Lailah!” he exclaimed, Luzrov also expressing its joy in a series of excited chimes as it nuzzled against Lailah’s cheek.

Leaving Lailah and Luzrov on their own, Sorey made his way over to Atakk, who was a little further away from the group. He had been listening to their conversation, so he knew that Sorey would be coming over once he was finished.

“Atakk,” Sorey began. “I know what you’re thinking.”

< Then you know what I’m going to say, > he replied without hesitation, Sorey flinching at how forward his response was. < I’ve warned you before, you don’t know what these AI are capable of. >

Sorey remembered Atakk’s warning well, from when they had first met Lailah and learnt of the existence of human-based AI. Atakk had eventually warmed up to her, but the fact that he was reiterating his previous warning about her, Sorey figured out what Atakk was trying to say.

“…You don’t trust Luzrov.”

< Meeting the AI in the archives is one thing. But inviting them to be hosted on Elysia’s server? >

Sorey pursed his lips, dropping his gaze. Atakk had a point, inviting the AI to Elysia’s server was a reckless decision. No one knew that better than Atakk, who along with the other Normin AI was responsible for protecting Elysia from potential threats. In hindsight, Sorey supposed it was too soon for both of them to draw the conclusion that Lailah and Luzrov were not harmful programs. Even now, as he looked over at the pair, he realised there was still a lot he didn’t know about them.

< You’re right, I don’t trust Luzrov. And to be honest, I’m still wary of Lailah, > Atakk continued, his gaze shifting slightly to the two AI behind Sorey. < However, the one I do trust is _you_ , Sorey. So if you decide to put your faith in them… then I will as well. >

Sorey blinked, letting out the breath he hadn’t even realised he had been holding. He had expected a scolding from Atakk, so it came as a surprise to hear the AI placing all of his trust in Sorey’s judgement. It was a welcome feeling of relief, as Sorey allowed a small smile to creep onto his face.

“Thank you, Atakk,” he whispered.

< Also, I get that you’re looking for Mikleo. But just think about how far you’re willing to go for him. >

He nodded carefully, taking in Atakk’s words. He couldn’t tell if Atakk was trying to warn him of something, but it left him feeling slightly uneasy. There was nothing Sorey wanted more than to bring Mikleo back, and yet it seemed as if Atakk was questioning his dedication to him, or challenging him to think twice about what he was doing. He quickly shook his head, pushing the feeling away. Lailah came up beside him then, tilting her head as she looked at him.

< Is everything alright, Sorey? > she asked.

“Yeah, we’re almost ready to dive down to the server,” Sorey answered, glancing back at Atakk.

< So you are coming after all, > he remarked, as if he wasn’t surprised in the slightest.

“Of course! It will be my first time diving to Elysia’s server, so I’m kind of excited to see what it’s like!”

< Well yes, but… I’m just worried about testing the limits of your newfound diving ability so quickly. >

Sorey could understand Atakk’s concern, after all it had only been a few days since he had begun diving without needing the armatus. At first, the heavy feeling on his chest had still been there, similar to when he had first tried to dive to the archives on his own. But after subsequent dives, the weight had gradually lightened enough to allow him to navigate the archives without the armatus. This way, the AI would be able to focus on their respective tasks, and it also allowed Lailah and Atakk to meet formally without the barrier of the armatus between them. 

< I agree with Atakk, this is the first time I’ve seen someone learning to dive at this level on their own, > Lailah added in.

Luzrov, who had been observing the conversation from Lailah’s shoulder, sensed that something was amiss when the group hadn’t moved from the archives yet. It floated back to Sorey, nosing him gently as it crooned the sound for Sorey’s name.

“It’s okay, Luzrov,” he reassured the AI upon picking up on its anxiety. Turning his attention back to Lailah and Atakk, he said, “I’m fine. Please, just let me do this last dive then I’ll resurface.”

Lailah and Atakk shared a brief glance before nodding in tandem. Sorey uttered his thanks, excitement building when he realised he would get to explore a new part of the ‘net. He couldn’t still his restlessness as he waited for Atakk to finish his preparations, an energy that was felt by Luzrov as it rested on Sorey’s shoulder. His hand had reached up to play idly with Luzrov’s tail, his fingers stroking over the furs where it faded from white into a pale blue colour. Luzrov gave off an annoyed chirp, as it didn’t appreciate its tail being touched. When Sorey ignored the sound and continued stroking, it shook its tail free from his hand and lightly smacked him in the cheek with it. Sorey spluttered and glared at the AI, but it turned up its nose and simply gave off a small tinkle of laughter in response.

Sorey frowned, but in reality he was glad for the small distraction, as the AI momentarily forgot that he would be resurfacing soon. Maybe it was because Luzrov was a young AI, but it still had trouble understanding that unlike itself, Sorey was human and couldn’t remain in the ‘net forever. After a moment longer, Atakk closed his interface and faced the small party of Lailah, Sorey, and Luzrov. He pushed up his helm, addressing the group.

< Elysia is due to power off soon, so it’s probably best that we make the trip now before the other Normin return, > Atakk announced before turning to Sorey. < You do realise he’s going to say no, right? >

“I’ll find a way to convince him,” Sorey shrugged.

< Who are you talking about? > Lailah asked with a tilt of her head.

< You’ll find out soon enough, > Atakk sighed, earning a laugh from Sorey. It was soon joined by the sound of tiny bells, Luzrov happily chiming in with Sorey’s name in between its tinkles of laughter.

* * *

When Sorey thought of Elysia’s server within the ‘net, he imagined something maybe the size of his online home. The server room in the real world was just large enough to house all of their equipment, with room for somebody to come in and perform routine maintenance. It was just the right size – not too large, and not too small. They always had enough room, never needing to expand even with how much data they were accumulating.

So when Sorey was met with the reality, he definitely hadn’t been expecting something so grand. It was huge, comparable to the Shrinechurch or the Great Sanctuary. It might have been a bit plain, but that didn’t stop Sorey from staring in awe.

“T-This is where you live, Atakk?” Sorey spluttered.

< In a sense of the word, yes, > Atakk said with a small laugh. < It’s not much, but I guess this is ‘home’ for me. >

< I think it’s amazing! > Lailah said breathlessly.

They floated closer to the server, observing it from the outside. It reminded Sorey of an office building, grand in size and built for function rather than aesthetics. Lights pulsed in all sorts of different colours, blinking and flashing to indicate things beyond Sorey’s knowledge. It was hard to imagine that all of this was run by a series of AI programs that he and Mikleo had developed on a whim. 

There was a single opening at the front of the structure, which Sorey assumed was the entrance to the server. Blinking, he noticed a small ball of light glowing in the entrance. It was growing in size, and upon squinting Sorey could see it was actually a ball of fire. It took him a moment longer to realise that it was coming straight for them.

< Intruders! Prepare yourselves! >

Sorey flinched and reeled back at the sound of the booming voice, but Atakk huffed and floated forward, putting himself between the group and the ball of fire.

< Calm down, Phoenix. They’re with me. >

The ball of fire immediately halted its assault, the flames fizzling away to reveal a small Normin. It was slightly larger than Atakk, sharing many of the same features. Its body was orange and white, but in place of Atakk’s helm it wore a simple white bonnet. Its gaze was intense as it stared down at Atakk, crossing its arms across its body.

< Atakk! You’re early! > The Normin boomed in a deep voice. < I trust that the medical bay is secure? >

< I haven’t secured the medical bay yet, > Atakk answered honestly, Phoenix scowling in response.

< Well, get going then! I’m not sure what you’re waiting for! >

< Actually, we have a favour to ask of you. >

< ‘We?’ > Phoenix repeated, shifting his gaze from Atakk to the group behind him.

Sorey carefully lifted Luzrov from around his neck, handing the AI to Lailah. It blinked and chimed the sound for Sorey’s name, humming happily as the human tickled it fondly behind the ears. It draped itself over Lailah’s shoulder as the two of them watched Sorey float forward to meet Phoenix, raising a hand in greeting.

“Phoenix,” he nodded, smiling. “It’s been a while.”

< Sorey? > he said, narrowing his eyes. < Hmph! So you have finally decided to show yourself before the mighty Phoenix! >

“Uh… yes?” Sorey scratched the back of his neck, tilting his head at him.

< Hah! You would do well to know your place then! For you have entered my domain! Behold, for I am the strongest of the Normin AI! I am— >

< Yes, we know who you are, > Atakk sighed, quickly cutting him off.

Phoenix appeared to stumble upon being interrupted, but quickly composed himself and straightened up. Sorey chuckled quietly to himself at this, but stopped when he saw the glare he was receiving from him. Phoenix cleared his throat and folded his arms across his chest, frowning as he glared once more at the pair.

< Hmph! Present your request before me then! > he huffed. < It better be important if it warrants a visit from Sorey! >

< Well you see, > Atakk began. < We found some programs on the Internet and— >

< You what?! > Phoenix shouted, his voice booming throughout the space. Sorey flinched and shrunk back, expecting Phoenix to flare up into a ball of fire again.

< You haven’t even let us finish, > Atakk sighed.

< I don’t care! What were you thinking, bringing unknown programs into the server?! >

“Hold on, Phoenix,” Sorey held a hand up, coming between the pair. “Atakk isn’t at fault, this was my idea.”

< He still allowed it and showed you the path to the server! >

Sorey’s face fell, feeling guilty for getting Atakk in trouble when it had been his idea from the start. Just then, Lailah placed a hand on Sorey’s shoulder, nodding at him. It appeared that she wanted to have a chance at reasoning with Phoenix herself, Luzrov scurrying off Lailah’s shoulder to curl around Sorey’s neck instead. But as Lailah approached Phoenix, Sorey saw how he shrunk back, paws poised as if ready to execute antivirus measures. He was about to warn Lailah, but she seemed to understand, keeping a safe distance from him.

< Phoenix, > she addressed him politely, head slightly bowed in greeting. < My name is Lailah. It’s a pleasure to meet you. >

Phoenix remained in a defensive position, not letting up his stance at all. At least, Sorey thought with relief, he hadn’t flared up into a ball of fire for a second time.

< What _are_ you?  > he finally asked, his voice both apprehensive and curious at the same time.

< I am an AI, just like you and Atakk. >

Phoenix narrowed his eyes at this, not entirely convinced by Lailah’s response. But if he thought she was lying, he didn’t show it. He huffed, lowering his paws and folding them across his chest. Sorey figured it was hard to stay wary of Lailah when she seemed so kind and inviting. It was a thought that simultaneously warmed his heart and sent chills up his spine.

< What business do you have at Elysia? > Phoenix demanded.

< I am here at Sorey’s request, > she answered honestly, prompting a nod from Sorey. He approached the pair carefully, Luzrov twitching its nose as it perched on Sorey’s shoulder, neck stretched out as it observed the unfamiliar Normin. Sorey noticed how Phoenix stared back at Luzrov, but he kept quiet and didn’t mention anything about the AI.

“Both Lailah and Luzrov are helping to look for Mikleo,” Sorey went on to explain, Luzrov chirping at the sound of its name. “I think having them as part of Elysia’s network will make things more convenient for us.”

< There’s also no telling what could be in the ‘net, > Atakk added in. < If they come under attack, I honestly can’t think of any place safer for them than with you, Phoenix. >

Sorey nodded his head in agreement, and Phoenix puffed out his chest upon hearing this. Sorey knew that his security measures were some of the best, rivalling even those of the biggest security companies. In fact, all of the Normin contributed to the protection of Elysia, but it really did help having Phoenix at the forefront. Sorey trusted that with him in charge, nothing would be getting through his firewall any time soon.

“So, what do you say Phoenix?” Sorey urged.

< Absolutely not! > he shouted. < Even if they are AI, what is to say they can be trusted? >

Sorey hesitated, wanting to say something but he found that even he didn’t know the answer to that question. He wondered what it was that had led him to trust Lailah so quickly. When he exchanged permissions with Lailah and armatised with her, it had been because he recognised her power as an AI was needed to explore the dark level. He wasn’t proud of himself for initially using Lailah for her armatus, but a part of her must have trusted him in turn if she was willing to exchange permissions with him despite being a hacker. Now that they had spent more time with each other, he was more comfortable thinking of her as a friend, but did he truly trust her?

< You’re right, I don’t expect you to trust me, > Lailah murmured. < But please believe me when I say I want to help Sorey and Elysia in any way possible if I can. >

< And the other AI? > Phoenix asked, shifting his gaze to the ferret on Sorey’s shoulder.

< Luzrov is still an incomplete program, as you can see. We’re working on resolving its code, but it will take time, > Lailah explained. < But I promise, we won’t take up too much space and we’ll stay out of your work. >

Phoenix frowned, pondering the request set before him. Sorey didn’t think he sounded entirely convinced, sighing to himself and letting his shoulders slump. It would take a lot more to convince him to let Lailah and Luzrov remain on the server. Luzrov picked up on the drop in his mood and nudged Sorey gently, sounding his name in an attempt to cheer him up. Sorey reached up to scratch it beneath the chin, smiling slightly. Just then, a portal opened not too far from where they were gathered, and a small blue Normin came stumbling through.

< File server is clear! > It piped up as it made its way over to the group.

< Diving room is clear! > said a green Normin who had joined Sorey by his side.

More voices chimed in, until a whole hoard of Normin had gathered around the group. They all huddled together in a sea of different colours, Lailah clapping her hands in delight.

< T-There’s so many of them! > she exclaimed.

“Impressive, huh?” Sorey said proudly, placing his hands on his hips and grinning widely. “Mikleo and I made them!”

< Oh my! > Lailah gasped, her hands cupping her cheeks. < You and Mikleo… _made_ all of them?  >

“We sure did!”

Lailah let out a small squeak, her hands moving to cover her mouth. Sorey blinked, noticing then how her face had taken on a dark shade of red, almost as deep as the scarlet-coloured jacket she wore. He turned his attention to Luzrov, who blinked at him slowly before making a short chirp. It appeared the AI was also confused by Lailah’s sudden change in behaviour.

“Is something the matter, Lailah?”

< No! Not at all! > she said loudly, though it was muffled by the press of her hands on her mouth. Her cheeks had now faded to a light shade of pink, small giggles sounding from her despite her efforts to suppress them.

The Normin began to greet Sorey, huddling around his legs as he exchanged greetings with them in turn. Their respective responsibilities had kept all of them busy, so it had been a while since they saw each other. Especially for Sorey, who had only recently started to dive regularly again, it was his first time seeing them online and not through an interface. However, it was hard for the Normin to ignore the strange AI hanging around Sorey’s neck, who sniffed at the Normin whenever one of them had the courage to approach it. There was also Lailah, whom they knew to be an AI as well despite her avatar-like appearance.

< Who are they? > one of the Normin finally asked, some of the others also chiming in with their own questions.

“That’s Lailah,” Sorey answered, motioning towards the female AI. She folded her hands in her lap and dipped her head in a small bow, smiling brightly. 

“And this,” he continued, scratching the ears of the ferret who hummed in response. “is Luzrov. They’re friends of mine.”

< Lailah! >

< Luzrov! >

< We were just asking Phoenix if they would be able to stay in the server with us, > Atakk explained.

< They’re not staying! > Phoenix grunted from where he was standing with his arms crossed.

< Why not? >

< Can’t they stay? >

A collective whine sounded from the Normin, some of them having already taken a liking to the new AI. A few of them gathered around Phoenix, questioning his decision and talking over him. He froze up, letting out an exasperated sigh when he realised there was no way to win this argument.

< Ugh, fine! > he groaned, glaring at Sorey. < Your AI can stay! But the moment I sense anything suspicious coming from either of them, I won’t hesitate to execute antiviral measures! >

Sorey’s head snapped up at the same time as Luzrov’s, a wide grin spreading across his face as Luzrov’s tail began to brush excitedly against Sorey. Before either of them could thank Phoenix, Lailah had already darted forward and scooped Phoenix into her arms.

< Thank you, Phoenix! > she exclaimed, hugging the Normin tightly.

< U-Unhand me immediately! > Phoenix protested, squirming in her grip. < I will not be treated like some stuffed toy! Are you listening to me?! >

Atakk could do little more than shrug as Sorey laughed alongside some of the other Normin. Even Luzrov joined in, small jingles sounding from it as it hopped onto Lailah’s shoulder, chiming a tone of thanks to Phoenix.

< Yes, yes! Now inside the server, all of you! > Phoenix barked, wrestling himself free from Lailah’s embrace.

The AI were quick to file into line at Phoenix’s instruction, Atakk bringing up the rear with Lailah at the end of the line while Sorey remained at the entrance to the server. He bid his farewell to each of the Normin as they disappeared inside, but he knew he would be seeing them more often as long as Lailah and Luzrov remained a part of the network. Atakk bid his goodnight to Sorey and rejoined the Normin, leaving Lailah and Luzrov outside with Sorey and Phoenix.

< Now let me remind you two that so long as you are a part of my domain, I expect the both of you to listen to my commands! > Phoenix huffed, staring them both down. < You would do well to remember that! >

Sorey scratched the back of his neck nervously, but he figured that since Phoenix was doing them a favour by allowing the AI to be hosted on what was effectively his server, the least they could do was abide by his rules. Lailah didn’t seem to have a problem with it, but Sorey could swear that he heard a huff coming from Luzrov.

“Thank you, Phoenix. I really appreciate you doing this for us,” Sorey grinned, prompting the Normin to wave off his thanks and mutter a comment under his breath about Sorey not visiting them more regularly.

Luzrov suddenly scampered off Lailah’s shoulder, nuzzling against Sorey’s cheek when it realised he was resurfacing. He scratched the ferret behind its ears, finding a particularly tender spot that caused it to hum happily. It closed its eyes, body relaxing into the human’s touch. Luzrov looked so content, Sorey almost felt bad for having to leave. Eventually they gave into Phoenix’s loud grumbling, Luzrov returning to its spot on Lailah’s shoulder. At that point, Phoenix was quick to usher the two AI away before the farewell dragged on any longer. Sorey couldn’t help but smile to himself as he heard the tone for his name, chiming repeatedly even long after the AI had disappeared inside the server.

* * *

_< …rey? Sorey…?  >_

He groaned in his semi-asleep state, rolling over to his other side and pulling the blanket closer around himself. He settled back into bed, huddling into the covers for warmth. But it wasn’t long before the voice spoke again, this time a little clearer now that Sorey had been disturbed from his sleep.

_< Hello~? Can you hear me?  >_

Sorey continued to ignore the voice, until it was joined by a high-pitched trill. It sort of reminded Sorey of an alarm tone or a notification, but he didn’t remember setting any alerts on his interface. The trilling continued, almost becoming more urgent the longer that Sorey left it for.

 _< Calm down, Luzrov,  >_ said the voice from before, giggling softly. _< I know you’re excited, but you’ll quickly learn that humans can be a little slow first thing in the morning.  >_

“Luzrov…?” Sorey blinked, slowly opening his eyes.

He sat up, adjusting to being awake as he stretched his arms out. Rolling his neck, he looked to his bedside dresser where he normally kept his earpiece overnight. But at the moment it was bare, aside from his interface. The voices had seemed quite close, which meant his earpiece had to be nearby somewhere.

Sorey was thankful for the trilling noise that hadn’t stopped since he first woke up, allowing him to find his earpiece caught amongst the tangle of pillows and bedsheets. He must have fallen asleep while wearing it if he didn’t remember taking it off before bed.

“Luzrov,” Sorey repeated as he refit the earpiece into his ear. The trilling noise turned into the chime for his name, followed by a small gasp of exclamation.

 _< Good morning, Sorey!  > _Lailah chirped. _< I was beginning to wonder when you would wake up.  >_

“Mmm? Have you guys been up for a while?” Sorey asked, trying to piece together the events of the night before. He remembered resurfacing after visiting Elysia’s server, then returning home because it had been a bit too late to visit Mikleo. After that… he must have fallen asleep as soon as he had crawled into bed, if he hadn’t remembered to set his earpiece aside.

 _< We left the server about… an hour or two ago? It’s a bit hard to say…  > _Lailah trailed off, frowning slightly. Sorey remembered then how she had said that one tended to lose track of time within the ‘net. On top of that, it seemed that Lailah’s experience as an AI had skewed her perception of time, so it was difficult for Sorey to judge how long the AI had been ‘awake’ for.

_< By the way, Sorey, there’s something you should know about Luz—  >_

Before Sorey could hear the rest of Lailah’s sentence, there was a knock at his bedroom door. Sorey froze up and tore the earpiece from his ear, setting it next to his interface. When the door opened, it was Selene who poked her head in, her eyes scanning his room. Her eyes fell on Sorey, and she smiled warmly as she let herself in.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” she teased lightly, sitting herself on the edge of his bed.

“Morning,” he replied back, raking a hand through his hair to work out the stray knots.

“How are you feeling?”

Sorey blinked at the sudden question, frowning slightly. He pressed the back of his palm to his forehead, half-expecting to pull it back in the event he was running a high fever. He thought he did feel a bit warmer than usual, but he attributed that to having been curled up inside the warmth of his bed.

“I’m fine, why do you ask?”

“What, I’m not allowed to be worried about my son?”

Selene gave a mock pout, poking him in the side where she knew he was ticklish. Sorey immediately tensed up, suppressing a yelp as he quickly jerked away. Lucky for him Selene didn’t take it further than that, but he immediately cursed the fact that she knew just where his weak points were. The only other person who had taken advantage of his weakness – and probably abused it the most – had been Mikleo, but in his current state it had been a number of years since their last tickle fight.

“It’s just that I tried to wake you earlier and you didn’t stir,” she went on to say. “So I figured that you were probably in need of the rest.”

Sorey blinked once more, tilting his head to the side. Something about Selene’s concern was nagging at him, like there was something he was missing and that she wasn’t explaining. It dawned on him that if she had been trying to wake him, it must have meant there was somewhere they were supposed to be at the moment. It most likely wasn’t urgent, seeing as Selene had been willing to let him sleep in.

“Did I miss something?” Sorey suddenly blurted out.

“Hmm? Did you forget what date it is today?”

It took him a moment to think through the answer, releasing quiet gasp when he realised what he had been missing all morning.

“It’s the first Saturday of the month,” he mumbled, a knot beginning to curl in his stomach.

For as long as he could remember, Sorey and Selene had made it routine to have breakfast together at their regular café at the start of a new month. It had started when he was still child, at a time when his father had been alive. Even after his passing and Sorey had grown into a young adult, Selene had had no intention of giving up the little tradition.

“Don’t tell me you actually forgot?” Selene said with surprise, before it was followed by a quiet laugh and a ruffle to Sorey’s hair. “Someone’s been working too hard!”

“I-I…” Sorey began, but the reality was he didn’t have an excuse; he simply didn’t want to believe that with how much time he had been spending with the AI, he had completely lost track of his own time in the real world.

“I’m sorry…”

“You don’t have to apologise,” Selene told him gently, pulling him forward to place a small kiss to the top of his head. “We’re just changing it up a little this time!”

Patting his hand, she stood up from the bed, the mattress bouncing back without her weight.

“There’s brunch in the kitchen when you’re ready,” she said, stopping at his door to look back over her shoulder. “Better have it while it’s still warm.”

“I’ll be right out,” he replied, and she smiled as she left down the hallway, Sorey listening to the retreating sound of her footsteps.

When he was alone again, he sighed loudly and let himself flop back into his pillows. He felt terrible for breaking their promise, but he knew that if he brought it up again, he would simply be brushed off. That was just the sort of person Selene was. She wouldn’t allow Sorey to apologise for a second time, and definitely not over something as trivial as this. That’s what she would say anyway, he thought to himself, but he knew that she always looked forward to their outing every month. He would have dwelled further on the thought, however his stomach chose that moment to grumble in protest, and he decided he would think better after some food.

Selene was seated at the bench in the kitchen, a mug of coffee in her hands as she leaned forward, resting an elbow on top of the bench. She was flicking through something on the holographic screen in front of her, her head tilted to the side as she skimmed through the page she had open in front of her. It appeared to be a series of online recipes, Sorey noted as he got closer. When she saw him, she smiled and with a wave of her hand, the open windows shrunk and the screen flickered out of the way to the end of the bench.

Sorey pulled himself up onto the bar stool opposite her, gazing in wonder at the plates of food between them. It was more than enough for just the two of them, and Sorey thought for a moment that maybe they were expecting Muse to come over. It was highly possible that Selene had called on her for company when she realised that he wasn’t getting out of bed that morning.

“No need to be shy! Go ahead and dig in,” she laughed, watching Sorey help himself to a glass of orange juice to start.

“Thanks, for all this,” he murmured.

“Not at all! We could do it more often if you like,” she suggested, swirling her mug a little before taking a sip.

“I’d like that,” he said, reaching for one of the stacks of pancakes in front of him. He was just pouring some syrup over the top and cutting himself a piece when Selene spoke up again.

“By the way, I didn’t realise that you were still developing Normin programs,” she said casually, causing Sorey to stare at her with a look of confusion.

“What are you talking about?” he asked around the bite he was taking.

Rather than answering, Selene pointed him towards the holographic screen that she had relocated earlier to the end of the bench. Lines of text scrolled past displaying various news headlines, alongside weather reports and records of instant messaging conversations. But in the corner, tucked next to the on-screen time display was a small Normin. It wasn’t Atakk, as evidenced by the lack of a helm on its head. Instead, it wore the white bonnet that was signature of the Normin that were developed after Atakk. It was a white and turquoise colour, with a sweep of hair peeking out from beneath its bonnet. Sorey was about to say he didn’t recognise it either, until it made a familiar chime that sounded a lot like his name.

He jerked forward, choking on the bite of his pancake that he had been swallowing. He quickly reached for his glass, spluttering as he attempted to clear his throat. He coughed in between sips of his orange juice, vaguely aware of Luzrov’s worried chimes as it watched Sorey struggling to catch his breath.

“Are you okay, Sorey?” Selene exclaimed, dropping her spoon to lean over the bench top and give some sharp taps to his back.

Still coughing, Sorey managed to give a weak nod, which Selene took to mean he would be alright. He gulped down the last of his juice, composing himself before he stared back at the interface.

“H-Has it been there all morning?”

“Ah, it first appeared while I was making brunch before it disappeared for a little while,” she said, tapping a finger against her cheek. “It probably reappeared not long after I came out of your room.”

Sorey stared once again at Luzrov, who simply waved and whistled happily. Sorey huffed and stabbed his fork into his pancake, wrangling the remainder of it into his mouth.

“You know, seeing it on our home interface kind of reminds me of those virtual pets children used to keep,” she commented.

There was a sharp error sound, Sorey quickly glancing at his mother but it seemed she hadn’t taken note of the sudden noise. Turning back to the screen, the Normin had its arms crossed on its chest, a displeased look on its face. It appeared Luzrov didn’t like being compared to a pet. Sorey swallowed the rest of his pancake and reached for the fruit salad, spooning some of it onto his plate.

“This one doesn’t really have a role at Elysia…” he began, deciding to play along with Selene. “So it _could_ actually remain here at home.”

“It’s quite the curious little one,” she giggled to herself, but also laughing at Luzrov’s annoyed expression.

Sorey went back to staring at his food, moving a grape around on his plate. Selene got up, walking back into the kitchen to wash her mug. She wiped her hands on a tea towel, moving to the bench and turning the interface towards her. Luzrov chirped, following the movement of her hands. It chased after her finger, leaning over an open window as it expanded in size. Sorey watched all of this with great interest, so intently that he didn’t even realise Selene had been staring back at him.

“Is everything okay, Sorey?”

He nodded quickly, swallowing the grape and licking his lips. Pushing away from the bench, Luzrov suddenly chirped, loud enough to catch the attention of both Selene and Sorey.

“Oh, a message?” she said, smiling at the Normin. “Would you like to get it for me?”

She received another chirp in reply, Luzrov quickly bounding off the top of the status bar to trot over to the message bank. It disappeared for a moment, returning not a second later with a letter icon in hand. It expanded to reveal a short message, Selene humming as she read it.

“Muse will be coming over soon,” she announced after thanking the Normin.

“It’s been a while since the two of you have hung out,” Sorey commented, shuffling past her to rinse off his plate.

“She’s been working herself pretty hard lately,” Selene said, shaking her head. “Like somebody else I know.”

“I’m sorry,” Sorey smiled shyly, prompting Selene to poke him in the side again.

“You should take some time off yourself.”

“Is this your way of kicking me out of the house?”

“Of course not!” she huffed, pretending to be offended by Sorey’s accusation. “I am serious though. Go out, spend some time with your friends.”

Before Sorey could protest, she reached out and ruffled his hair with a small laugh.

“I’m not talking about Mikleo and the Normin, by the way.”

Luzrov made a whistling sound, and Selene turned back towards the interface, humming at the AI. Sorey sighed, beginning to pack away the excess food while occasionally looking over to watch his mother playing with the Normin. Leaving the two alone in the kitchen, he trudged back to his room to prepare for a shower. He pushed himself to think, but no one exactly came to mind when he thought of people he would call to hang out with; his colleagues at Elysia weren’t exactly his first point of call. Growing up it had just been him and Mikleo, and that had been enough. It might have been lonely, but neither of them had ever thought so.

As he reached for his interface, his fingers brushed against a business card that had been left there. Picking it up, he tilted it left and right, watching the gold lettering catch the light of the midday sun. Exhaling softly, he walked over to his desk and pushed aside books and papers until he cleared a space, pressing a lit button on the surface. A holographic screen shone to life, similar to the home interface that Selene was using in the kitchen.

Sorey hit the messaging icon, flipping the business card over to the ID on the back. He typed out a hastily thought-out message, slamming his finger on ‘send’ before he decided to change his mind. His face was set in concentration as he stared at the blinking cursor, pushing away when he realised he shouldn’t have expected an immediate response. Knowing there wouldn’t be any point in camping out in front of his interface, he decided to leave the window open while he took a shower.

But not before checking for a reply once more, the contents of his sent message staring back at him.

* * *

Sorey stood at the entrance of a tall building, toying with the brim of his hat for what was probably the fifth time since arriving. He shuffled around nervously, occasionally stealing a glance at people who brushed past him to enter the building. Every time they did so, he would peek inside and catch glimpses of what lay beyond the tinted doors. In hindsight, it was probably easier to wait inside but he would probably be overwhelmed by whatever was waiting for him past the sliding doors.

He fingered the earpiece inside his pocket, half-tempted to start a conversation with Lailah or Luzrov while he was waiting. But before he could do so, a loud voice greeted him from behind with a cheery, “Welcome!”

Sorey jumped at the sudden noise, composing himself with a sigh of relief as he turned.

“Rose! Don’t scare me like that!” he whined.

“You actually got scared by that?” she laughed, much to Sorey’s annoyance. “Cute, why don’t you come on inside?”

Sorey followed behind, swallowing a gasp as he entered the interior of the Sparrowfeathers building. Unlike the cosiness of Elysia and the research facilities at Ladylake, this building was a multi-storey complex, its highest peak standing proud over the whole city. Inside, it was like stepping into a shopping centre. Rows of shops lined the outer perimeter, surrounding the food court in the middle of the square. It was all a bit exciting, and Sorey found himself wondering why he hadn’t been here earlier.

“You _own_ all of this?” he asked.

“Nah, just the building,” Rose answered casually, as if it was meant to be any less impressive. “Small businesses rent the space from us, and we try to keep the cost down as much as we can. Business is fairly profitable here, so they continue to rent from us and we end up with happy customers! I find it’s a more effective business model that way; make money off smaller customers and keep them happy, rather than trying to please one or two bigger guys who might be willing to shell out the big bucks!”

“And that’s why you keep the cost of your security software down as well,” Sorey murmured to himself.

“You got it!” Rose grinned, giving him a small wink. “Money may be what keeps the big businesses running, but there’s something else we value just as much.”

“What would that be?”

Rose didn’t give an answer, simply smiling at Sorey in a way that made him even more curious.

“You’ll find out one day,” she said. “Now then, any place ‘round here catching your interest? Ooh, I definitely recommend the mabo curry buns from that place! I have one almost every time I’m down here.”

Sorey looked around, and to be honest some of the food did look very inviting. But all the noise and the bustle was getting to be a bit too much for him, as much as he tried to tune it out.

“Is there any place a little quieter, by any chance?”

“Not used to large crowds, hey?” she teased lightly. “Hmm, I might know a place.”

Rose led him to the elevator, ushering him inside when it arrived. Pulling back her sleeve, she pressed her bracelet to the access panel and selected one of the upper floors. With a single chime, the doors closed and the elevator began to rise. Sorey shifted in place, occasionally peeking over at Rose who was drumming her fingers on her arm, probably in time to some random song playing in her head.

“Thanks for agreeing to meet up with me on such short notice,” he murmured, breaking the silence.

“Oh, it’s no problem!” she laughed. “If anything, I should be apologising because I couldn’t make more time for you.”

“No, I did spring this on you so it’s nothing you need to apologise for,” he said, shaking his head. “But I have to admit, I didn’t expect to find you working on a Saturday.”

“The other guys keep telling me to take a break but hey, I just love my job a little too much,” she said with a smile and a shrug of her shoulders.

A single chime sounded, and the elevator’s mechanical voice announced their destination floor. As the doors slid open, Sorey let out an audible gasp upon seeing the Pendrago skyline that stretched for miles in front of him. He was so enraptured by the view, Rose had to shove him out of the elevator before the doors closed on them again.

The far wall was made completely of glass, giving him an unobstructed view of the city of Pendrago, He dashed forward to press his nose to the glass, but ended up jerking back a little when the brim of his hat made contact first. Sorey could hear Rose giggling behind him as he pressed a hand to the glass to steady himself. He had never seen Pendrago as he was seeing it now, squinting at the people and cars below. In the distance, it wasn’t hard to pick out the shrine church with its decorative carvings and ornate motifs that distinguished it from the modern buildings that surrounded it.

“This sight isn’t open to just anyone, so you should consider yourself lucky,” Rose piped up from his side, lightly elbowing him.

Sorey nodded slowly, continuing to admire the view. He wished there was some way he could share this with Luzrov. With its curious nature, he knew the AI would be over the moon being able to see something like this. Rose huffed, tugging on his sleeve as a reminder that she would be heading back to work soon if he took any longer. Sorey complied and peeled himself away from the window, making a mental note to tell Luzrov about the sight later.

“Ah, welcome back Miss Rose.”

Both of them turned to meet the man who had greeted them. The cuffs of his button-up were folded back, the tie around his neck hanging loosely. Sorey immediately went stiff by Rose’s side, while a smile spread across her face.

“Eguille,” she greeted him with a wave. “I’m back! With someone I’d like you to meet.”

“You’re from Elysia, aren’t you? Zenrus’ little one,” he remarked, before chuckling to himself. “Well, perhaps not so little anymore.”

“Sorey,” he said, offering his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“Nice to meet you as well. Please, call me Eguille,” the older man replied, shaking Sorey’s hand.

“I’m sure the president of Sparrowfeathers co. needs no further introduction,” Rose smirked. “Hey Eguille, if you’re not busy would you mind jumping on the bar?”

“You have a _bar_?” Sorey exclaimed.

Eguille didn’t deny the fact, and Rose’s expression was so straight he thought they were being serious. But as it turned out, the ‘bar’ was actually a coffee cart set up in one of the recreation rooms, located not too far from the main lobby where they had entered. Eguille ushered them towards two empty armchairs at a low table, the hissing of the coffee machine sounding as it warmed up.

“Correction: we don’t have a bar _yet_ ,” Rose smiled, a sly grin that piqued Sorey’s curiosity again. “That will be the first thing I install once I take over from Eguille!”

“That conversation is still many years away, Miss Rose,” he interrupted, raising his voice a little so that it could be heard over the noise. Rose waved him off, turning her attention back to Sorey.

“I hope you remembered your bracelet this time!” she said. “You may be here as our guest, but that doesn’t mean I’m shouting!”

“You won’t need to do that,” Sorey said, feeling the tips of his ears heating up at the memory of their first meeting. He pulled back one of the leather cuffs on his wrist, revealing the thin bracelet hiding underneath. “I already owe you one thing, let’s not add to that list.”

“Oh, you’ve racked up a debt already? Better repay it before she starts charging interest,” Eguille quipped, ducking out of view as Sorey’s face paled and he whipped around to face Rose.

“W-Will you actually start charging interest?”

“My goodness, you really are something!” she laughed, and Sorey could swear he heard snickering coming from behind the coffee cart. “He’s kidding, of course! But hey, that’s not a bad idea…”

Sorey groaned, slumping in his chair as Eguille reappeared. He craned his neck to watch the man at work, reflecting on how strange it was to see the president of Sparrowfeathers at a coffee cart, rather than behind a desk or in meetings like how Sorey had imagined him. Eguille finished frothing the milk, swirling it a bit and tapping it on the edge of the bench before pouring it into a coffee cup. He finished it off with a dusting of cocoa powder before pressing the lid into place.

Sorey was surprised to see that aside from the coffee, Eguille was also carrying a large vanilla milkshake in his other hand, complete with a generous serving of whipped cream. To his relief, he set the milkshake in front of Rose while he held out the coffee towards Sorey, who took it with a word of thanks. He was about to pull out his bracelet to pay for the drink when Eguille held his hands up, shaking his head.

“Please do not worry about it,” he smiled warmly. “Miss Rose may not shout you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Bah, you’re no fun,” Rose muttered, stuffing a dollop of whipped cream into her mouth.

“And that is why I’m still in charge of this company,” Eguille laughed, waving to Sorey. “It was nice to meet you properly, Sorey. I hope to see more of you soon.”

“S-Same here!” Sorey quickly rose from his seat, leaning over to shake the man’s hand while balancing his coffee in the other hand. “Thank you very much!”

Settling back in the armchair, he wrapped his hands around the cup, taking a sip. He sighed contently, exhaling as the liquid warmed his body. He took another sip of the coffee, savouring the taste this time before he swallowed.

“This is really good,” he murmured, peeking up at Rose and her milkshake.

“Not too bad, ‘ey?” she grinned, taking a slurp of her drink. “I keep telling him he should take that coffee cart and go travelling through some of the surrounding towns, but presidency has kept him busy.”

“How about after you take over?”

“‘That conversation is still many years away, young Sorey’,” she teased, using the same words Eguille had used on her earlier, down to her impression of his voice. “What have you been up to since the networking event anyway?”

Sorey opened his mouth, then closed it quickly as he tried to think of the best way to answer Rose’s question. He couldn’t exactly tell her about the programs he was meeting in the Internet, nor could he mention his search for Mikleo. He shrugged his shoulders, scratching his cheek as he smiled nervously.

“Not much,” he began. “Meeting clients, learning how to run the company… a bit of research on the side.”

“Research? That’s new,” Rose remarked, swirling her straw in her milkshake. “What kind of research?”

He had only mentioned research as a cover for his activities with the AI, but now that Rose was asking about his so-called ‘research’ he was at a bit of a loss of how to respond. He decided for the next best explanation, hoping it would sound plausible enough for her.

“History, you know – old legends and ruins – stuff like that.”

“Oh I see, you’re one of _those_ people. Never would have pegged you to be a history nerd.”

“‘Those’ people?” Sorey repeated, taking a sip of his coffee. “You know others like me?”

“Maybe.”

When Sorey thought about it, Rose had been involved in the business for much longer than he had. It was expected that she would have more experience, as well as a larger network of contacts. Sorey set down his coffee, exhaling softly. There was a question of his nagging to be asked, but he wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.

“Something on your mind, Sorey?” Rose asked suddenly, taking note of his face set deep in thought.

“Sorta,” he murmured, eyes quickly darting around. It appeared they were alone, and as far as Sorey knew Eguille was the only other person who might have been around. Unless of course, there were other Sparrowfeathers employees who also loved their job enough to come into work on a Saturday.

“Rose,” Sorey said quietly, leaning in towards her. “…How much do you know about AI?”

Rose blinked at him, letting out a whistle. She began to play with one of the beads in her hair, tapping it gently.

“What, you mean those NPCs in the ‘net?” she asked. “A pain to work with, have you ever tried haggling with them before? Don’t do it, it looks convenient because they’re posted all over the place but they’re not worth it. If you _really_ want your money’s worth, there’s a few connections I might be able to get you in on—”

“No, not that!” Sorey exclaimed in a hushed voice. He motioned for her to lean forward, which she did. In an even quieter voice than he had used earlier, he whispered, “I mean, what if humans could become AI?”

Rose jumped a little at his words, staring at him as if he was crazy. Sorey wouldn’t be surprised if she did think so of him, considering that before he met Lailah even he hadn’t heard of such a thing being possible. Rose blinked again, slurping the last of her milkshake before slamming the empty cup on the table.

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Y-You don’t think I’m crazy?” Sorey stared at her.

“Of course I do,” she said without blinking. “What in the world gave you the idea that humans could become AI?”

“It was just a thought,” Sorey said, leaning back in his chair. “Well? What do you think?”

Rose folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow as she stared at him. ”What you’re suggesting sounds impossible, unless you know of somebody who’s already gone through the process.”

He quickly reached for his coffee, taking an extra long sip as he hummed. He pretended to consider Rose’s line of thinking, sighing as he set down his cup.

“So do you?”

“Huh?”

“Have you met these humans-turned-AI?”

Sorey quickly shook his head, but in hindsight it might have been a little too quickly. He silently prayed that Rose wasn’t that insightful, else she become suspicious of how quick he was to deny any sort of contact with these AI. To his relief, she backed off and sighed as she addressed him again.

“I see what you’re getting at… you might not have met them before, but you’re hoping somebody else has,” she mused aloud, to which Sorey nodded. “And you thought that somebody else was someone I might have known.”

In truth, Sorey hadn’t thought that far but it was a logical conclusion to come to, so Sorey nodded again. He leaned forward in his seat, waiting for Rose to continue speaking. But instead she frowned, pressing her lips together.

“I’m sorry, this is the first I’ve heard about your… humans-turned-AI,” she shook her head, her beaded bangs swaying with the motion. “Even if I did know somebody who might have met them, you’re asking me to share personal information about my customers just so you can follow a hunch.”

“No, you’re right,” Sorey said. “I work with clients myself, so I understand completely.”

Rose nodded, standing up from the armchair to stretch her arms above her head, bouncing lightly on the balls of her feet.

“Well, it’s probably about time for me to get back to work!” she announced.

“I should take my leave as well then,” Sorey said, moving to get up from the chair.

“I’ll walk you to the elevator. You need my pass to go back down anyway,” she said, flicking the black bracelet on her wrist.

He nodded, following behind Rose as they made their way to the lobby. Before getting into the elevator, he took one last look at the view of Pendrago city, now dyed in a light orange hue with the setting sun.

“Thanks for the talk, Rose. I really appreciate it,” he said as they waited at the elevator.

“As much as I hate to admit it, I had a good time as well,” she smiled. “Even if you did keep me from my work.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“I was kidding!” she exclaimed, elbowing him in the side. Sorey stiffened up when she got close to his weak spot, instinctively putting distance between them.

The elevator arrived, and he stepped inside as Rose held her bracelet to the access panel, selecting the ground floor for him.

“I hope we can do something like this again soon,” Sorey said. “I’ll make sure to ask ahead for your work schedule next time.”

“Aww, missing me already? You’re cute,” she laughed, but before he could defend himself she continued. “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about that favour you owe me. So we’ll be seeing more of each other soon.”

Waving to Sorey as the elevator doors began to close, she suddenly gasped and slammed the ‘down’ button from the outside, causing the doors to jerk open again.

“One more thing: throw this out for me on your way out,” she said, thrusting her empty milkshake cup into his hands. “Good luck with the ‘research’!”

Sorey was a bit confused, considering they had passed by a rubbish bin earlier where he had thrown his own coffee cup out. He barely registered Rose’s hurried word of thanks when the doors slid closed, the elevator beginning its descent down. He frowned to himself, shaking his head at Rose’s strange behaviour just now. It was then he felt something lodged between the palm of his hand and the milkshake cup.

Pulling the thing out, he discovered it to be a business card, almost identical to the one he had received at the networking event. Upon closer inspection though, he was able to make out another message from Rose, written in hasty scrawl.

“‘Edna’...” he began to read aloud, squinting at the name that had been written.

Realising it was a clue, Sorey’s mood lifted until a sudden realisation caused his smile to drop. The list of debts he owed to Rose was quickly accumulating; somehow, he only saw that list getting longer in the future.

* * *

After spending some time offline to focus on work and making up for lost time with Selene and Mikleo, it wasn’t long before Sorey became excited at the prospect of diving again and seeing the AI. Despite only travelling to Elysia’s server once, his control over diving was much stronger now, allowing him to easily retrace the path from his history. As soon as he neared the entrance, Lailah came out to greet him with a wave.

< Welcome back, Sorey! > she smiled widely.

“Lailah!” he grinned upon seeing the AI again. “It feels good to be ba—”

< Sorey! > a second voice boomed suddenly, causing him to flinch. But he relaxed when he realised who the voice belonged to.

“Phoenix,” he said, addressing the small Normin who had come out of the server to stand beside Lailah. “How were things while I was away?”

< Hmph! Your AI keeps bypassing my security measures! > he barked. < And navigating the network unmonitored! >

“Who, Lailah?” Sorey began, turning to her but she shook her head.

< Not her! The other one! >

“Oh, you mean Luzrov,” Sorey said, chuckling a little to himself. Somehow he wasn’t surprised, especially when the idea of being bound to Phoenix’s rules hadn’t appealed to Luzrov. What was more, of course the AI would be curious enough to sneak around the network by itself.

< I warned you that if any suspicious activity was about, I would execute antiviral measures! > Phoenix reminded Sorey with his paws crossed on his chest, but he seemed to be deep in other thoughts.

“Luzrov was able to bypass your firewall in its current form?” Sorey said with a hint of amazement in his voice. “That’s incredible!”

Phoenix’s eyes widened at Sorey’s response and he stumbled forward, almost falling face-first and unable to process what he had just heard. 

< That’s exactly the problem! > he shouted, but it appeared that Sorey was completely ignoring him.

“If Luzrov is that powerful now, just imagine what it will be able to do as a fully-fledged AI!” he was exclaiming to Lailah, who hid a small laugh behind her hand.

< Yes, I’m quite excited to see what Luzrov will be capable of as well, > she smiled, shrugging her shoulders at Phoenix. The Normin groaned loudly, comparing Sorey to a proud parent under his breath as he grumbled back to the server.

< We’ve managed to make some more progress with sorting out its code, > Lailah began telling Sorey. < In fact, Luzrov has a small surprise it would like to show you. >

“Really?” Sorey’s eyes lit up, quickly darting around as he looked for the AI. “Luzrov! It’s me, Sorey!”

Just then a familiar chime sounded from behind him, Sorey quickly recognising it as the one for his name. He turned with a wide grin on his face ready to greet Luzrov, but his breath caught when he saw a small child standing in front of him. They appeared to be only a year or two older than Atakk’s human avatar, peering up at Sorey with bright violet eyes. They wore a fluffy blue-green dress, with a red ribbon around the collar that almost looked as if it was chosen to match Sorey’s own. From beneath their petticoat poked out a puffy tail, its colouring matching the small pair of ears that twitched on top of their head. In the centre of their forehead was a golden circlet, visible just underneath their pale hair.

To any other person, they would have appeared to be a regular child. But Sorey knew this child as so much more than that. In fact, they were somebody he was all too familiar with.

As the child skipped forward to meet Sorey, he gathered his thoughts enough to jerk back, his breaths heaving. The child stopped, chiming the sound for Sorey’s name. They attempted to approach Sorey again, but he fiercely shook his head and stepped back once more.

“Y-You’re not… you’re not Mikleo,” he choked out, his hands clenching into fists.

< Sorey? > Lailah murmured, floating past him to rest her hand on the child’s shoulder. < It’s just Luzrov, is something the matter? >

“You’re not Mikleo!” he shouted again with more force, causing the child to flinch and grab onto Lailah’s hand.

< Sorey, I… > Lailah began softly, looking down at the child. Her heart clenched when she saw the light that had been in their eyes earlier now gone, replaced with hurt and confusion.

“Stop looking into my memory archives,” Sorey said firmly to the child, still refusing to make eye contact with either them or Lailah. “I’m sorry, but could you change forms? Anything but that one, please.”

The child’s grip on Lailah’s hand tightened, their ears drooping as their tail also dragged behind them. Looking up at Lailah, she appeared to be just as confused as they were. She closed her eyes, pursing her lips before she looked down at the small child.

< Luzrov, please do as Sorey says, > she said quietly, squeezing their hand back gently.

Luzrov frowned, pouting before complying with Sorey’s request. The human child disappeared in a cloud of data, Luzrov the ferret landing back on Lailah’s shoulder, its ears flat against its head. When Sorey looked up and saw Luzrov perched on Lailah’s shoulder, his expression visibly relaxed at the sight of the ferret again. He moved to pick Luzrov up, but it steered its head away, a low growl rumbling from its throat.

“Hey, don’t be like that,” Sorey frowned. “In the first place, you shouldn’t have been accessing my memory archives.”

Luzrov hissed, adding in an error noise for extra measure. Sorey huffed, pulling his hands away and folding them across his chest. Lailah split her gaze between the pair, nervously watching the scene that played out in front of her.

< It’s like you said. The fact that Luzrov _is_ able to access your memory archives is proof that it’s growing stronger as an AI,  > she tried to offer helpfully.

Sorey didn’t respond, still upset by what had happened. Luzrov seemed to understand, grunting another low growl before floating back to the server on its own. Lailah tried to call for the AI but it ignored her, leaving Lailah to speak with Sorey alone.

< I’m so sorry, Sorey, > she began softly, folding her hands in front of her. < If only I had known. >

“You couldn’t have known,” Sorey answered after a long pause, shaking his head. “Don’t be sorry, Lailah.”

She nodded slowly, placing a hand on Sorey’s shoulder and rubbing it gently. Out of courtesy, she hadn’t accessed Sorey’s or Atakk’s memory archives again since that first day she had met them. Judging from Sorey’s reaction to Luzrov just now, she knew that her intrusion would be unwanted no matter the reason. But she was sure that if she were to access them, she would see many more images of the one called Mikleo.

“They might have only been a child, but there’s no doubt about it,” he continued quietly. “It was him, it was Mikleo’s avatar.”

Lailah nodded once again, her hand moving to rub slow circles into his back. Through his coat, she could feel the deep breaths he was taking, the invisible lines she was tracing falling into rhythm with each breath he took. She could tell the sight of the young child had come as a shock to him, and he hadn’t been prepared for it.

< Luzrov never meant to hurt you in any way, > Lailah told him. < Perhaps it knew from your memory archives just how much Mikleo means to you, and thought it would make you happy being able to see him again. >

Sorey wanted to correct Lailah and tell her that he could already see Mikleo every day, but he knew that was beside her point. He closed his eyes, relaxing into Lailah’s touch.

“I know Luzrov didn’t mean it, I just… wasn’t expecting it,” he sighed, pressing a finger to the bridge of his nose. It was as if Mikleo had been alive and standing right there in front of him, but instead of being happy about the fact, he had shied away in fear. Because he knew the real Mikleo was still unconscious; the one whom he had seen had been nothing but an illusion. He wasn’t real, Sorey had to keep telling himself.

“I shouldn’t have gotten angry at Luzrov,” he sighed once again.

< Luzrov will come around, > Lailah said. < I think it was just upset at being rejected, especially when it had been so proud to show off its new form to you. >

Sorey nodded, closing his eyes and remembering the excitement in the way that Luzrov had said his name. Even the way that the child smiled at him had been so like Mikleo, if it weren’t for Luzrov’s ‘voice’ and the ferret ears and tail, Sorey might have been fooled into thinking it had really been Mikleo.

< I think you should go home, Sorey, > Lailah said gently. < You can apologise to Luzrov tomorrow. >

Sorey nodded, realising that Lailah was right. He wasn’t up to seeing Luzrov right now, not with the many questions running through his head and the memory of Mikleo’s avatar fresh in his mind. Luzrov would need some time to cool off as well, so it was better for Sorey to come back after they were both more well rested.

“Thanks, Lailah,” he murmured, and she nodded as she withdrew her hand from his back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She gave him a small smile, and he turned his back then to prepare the portal that would lead him back to the surface level. The command came to him easily, feeling the familiar tingle at the tip of his fingers. He looked towards Elysia’s server, half expecting to see Luzrov coming after him to say goodbye as it usually did. He waited to see if Luzrov would come, but there was no croon, no tinkling sound of his name. Sorey sighed once more, knowing he wouldn’t be seeing Luzrov until tomorrow. He faced the portal and was about to go through when Lailah spoke up.

< Give my regards to Mikleo, > she murmured.

Those few words were all it took for Sorey to freeze up, feeling his breath catch in his throat. It was like she knew immediately that he would be going to see Mikleo as soon as he resurfaced. His heart clenched painfully at the mention of his name, and yet instead of picturing the deathly still figure inside of the medical pod, he found himself thinking of the small child from earlier. Without Atakk’s armatus, he didn’t have the steady pulse of Mikleo’s heartbeat surrounding him, grounding him. Sorey realised then that he hadn’t even noticed it had been missing, causing him to hesitate. How could he have not noticed something like that?

He hesitated for longer than necessary at the edge of the portal, unsure how to respond to Lailah’s words. In the end he didn’t say anything and simply looked back at her. There was genuine concern in her expression, but also a tinge of guilt. Perhaps she was afraid she had said too much, and again Sorey wasn’t sure how he should respond to her. He wondered what she thought when she looked at him, saw the raw emotions in his face that her words had stirred in him.

Unable to form a proper response, Sorey left the ‘net on that note, hoping the exchange between them didn’t weigh heavily on Lailah’s heart in the aftermath. He resurfaced in the real world with a hollow feeling in his chest, remaining seated in his pod and curling in on himself. He kept telling himself that what he had seen wasn’t Mikleo. And yet when he closed his eyes, the thought of Mikleo was always accompanied by a small child with hair like moonlight, eyes and smile lighting up as he said Sorey’s name.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any questions or comments for Deep Dive AU, feel free to hit me up on social media!  
> (more active on Twitter, please don't be shy I would love to hear from you ♡)
> 
> Twitter: @amagiyas  
> Tumblr: skyress


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